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Ndi Igbo: Did Christianity fail in Ala-Igbo? THE HOLY BIBLE AGAINST
OLD AMADIOHA IN [The Longman English Language and Culture defined a hypocrite as a person who says one thing and does another, usu. something worse.] Chief Dr J.O.L. Ezeala (Jabborigbo of Ndi-Igbo) in his book The Osu-Curse on Igbo Race; sounded an alarm over what he called a misleading blend of Christianity and paganism in Igbo land. And this leads to another alarming question which no typical Igbo man or woman likes to discuss. In the face of Osu caste system, can the Igbo man be a true Christian? Dr Ezeala though lays the blame on Igbo animist clergy for failing on
their duty to continue from where the white missionaries stopped. He accuses
the Igbo
Reverend men and women of sacrilegious negligence of duty for abandoning
the Igbo flock to feed on idolatrous abominations and call on them to
apologise and for CHRIST'S
SAKE make restitution to Christianity in connection to only one God and
to the whole of the Igbo race. The continued existence of the Osu caste
system, Oru, Mgbeke, Mgborie, Dr Ezeala was right when he dogmatically called for a new generation of Igbo clergy and outstanding messengers of God since the present has been polluted. These acquaint themselves materialistic to luxury and aristocratic life-style which distract them from their moral and Christ-like responsibilities. Furthermore, Dr Ezeala denounced and condemned the alliance between the Igbo clergy and juju-priests and the overwhelming fear of these juju-priests which overshadows the clergy. He called this the cause of the inability and unwillingness on the part of the clergy to call a spade a spade since the missionaries left. In the face of Osu caste system, the Igbo baptised race which build more churches than any other race on earth, from another angle - the Nwadiala perspective:-), actually declared war on God and directly puts a question to its own spirituality. In Deuteronomy 12: 3-4 "And je shall overthrow their alters, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names out of that place." Ironically, these names like Arusi Okija, Igwekala, Kamalu Ozuzu, Iyiafo, Amadioha, Mgbede, Iyieke, Igweburuibu (some locally established and man made gods worshiped by the traditionalist pagan in Igbo traditional villages) and other local idols and deities established in struggle for supremacy hundreds and thousands of years back still control the activities of Igbo Christian families of today. Let us put it this way: If the Igbo people and their Reverends are so afraid of their fetish gods and his wrath - why carry the Bible? If you carry the Bible and call on the name of God or Christ as an individual, I guess He would be proud of your exemplary sacrifice. Why are they afraid? In respect to our present topic I believe that, starting with your own self, to your immediate family, your little sacrifice now would make a great beginning for your children to come. The Christian and educated Igbo people, however little they may have contributed will continue to be answerable for incorporating Igbo pagan customs and traditions like ife-arusi (idol worshiping), which ultimately leads to practices like prohibiting inter-marriages between fellow Igbo Christian youths, refusal to marry girls born on certain market days Mgbeke, Mgborie for fear they belong to Igbo idols and gods honoured on such days, etc. They will not fail to answer the final question of feeding their younger generation with hate, injustice and fetishism in place of justice, fairness and love. For you and I who believe in God, there is no escaping the truth which needed to be told. The question remains: What are we contributing to help? Our forefathers no doubt lived a life of their time. Religiously they thrilled and found contented superstitious solutions to certain things we find answers in the holy book today. But even when we fail to find the answers, I believe that no Igbo man (even if he wants to) can manage to live like his great grand father. We probably have grown somehow taller than they did. I am happy we can understand ourselves (I sure sit in another continent). If you don’t understand exactly what I mean, please look into the book: Omenala Igbo (Igbo Customs and Traditions) by F. C. Ogbalu or Omenala Ndi Igbo (Custom and Tradition of the Igbos) by J. U. T. Nzeako. The acquiescence, condonation and silence of the Igbo Christians and their leadership to these brutal kinds of paganism in defence of custom and tradition could be compared with all kinds of historic primitivism found in middle-age history books, human cruelty and brutal injustice to fellow humans. Why does a typical Igbo man enjoy the unfair but permanent humiliation inflicted on his brothers and sisters. Why does the Igbos choose to live in cultural primitivism? These lead to another sincere question just around Ndi-Igbo: Why did we stop killing our twins like our forefathers under "our culture and traditions"? How do we polish the present polluted and unconverted Ndi-Igbo with Christian names?
Paganism: Idol worshiping in Igboland Don’t under estimate your opinion. Join our public discussion Forum against Osu caste system here. Stop Osu Solidarity2007© |
