By Zika Bobby
Tilova for Africa, a non-governmental organisation, has described the Osu caste system as anachronistic and no longer tenable in modern day civilisation.
The charity group stated this at a symposium on ‘Discrimination Against Sexual, Disease State and Minority Groups’ in Awka, the Anambra State capital.
Co-Founder and Chairman of Tilova for Africa, Martin Nwabueze, said apart from denials that the individual members of these discriminated groups suffer, the society also denied itself the contributions these people should make to national development.
The Osu caste system is a traditional practice in Igboland, which discourages social interaction and marriage with a caste of persons (called Osu) who are considered as inferior beings compared to their real born (Diala) counterparts.
Nwabueze, an American-based pharmacist, said nobody should be segregated against or denied his or her rightful place in the society not for incompetence but on account of who their parents were or health status.
He said it was unfortunate that in spite of efforts by the church and traditional institutions to abolish the system, the practice was still prevalent such that young people who loved themselves and were compatible could not marry just because the society said one of them was of Osu ancestry.
He described the symposium as part of the campaign against minority groups, which covered HIV/AID, the Osu caste system and sexual rights.
“Even though we are Christians, we have not done away with that fear but the truth is that we are all created in the image of God, we are all equal before God, nobody is subordinate to any other in the eyes of God. HIV is not a death sentence, people with it can still live a normal life, so we are saying patients should not be discriminated against, this will increase the number of people submitting themselves for testing and care,” he said.
In his keynote speech, Charles Ekwunife commended ‘Tilova for Africa’ for increasing awareness on the plights of minority groups and called on Nigerians passing through segregation and discrimination to formally petition the PCC for redress, adding that the services were free.