STAND ALONE NARRATIVE
OSU ISH
Good day Stella,
This isn't for me but for my very close friend.
He started dating this girl beginning of last year. And by October he engaged the girl. And the couple were both planning for their wedding, also as the guy's family went on background check on the girl's family, and found out the girl is an osu(outcast) and he asked the girl and which the girl gave some excuse why she didn't tell him and all by then the girl was already pregnant.
He called me, and asked for advice and I told him to be calm that I learnt the Igbos want to abolish the osu(outcast) system in Igbo land on December 28th and he was so happy. January he decided to travel to the east to enquire from his uncles and how to go about his marriage plans since the osu system has been abolished,(did i mention that his mum who used to love this lady and even registered this lady for antenatal drastically changed towards the girl in a twinkle of an eye), the elders bluntly refused, that they ain't going with him for the marriage rites, i advised him to meet with their Church priest, which he did yet it was futile.
The issue now is the girl is almost 5 months gone and my friend's family don't want to hear anything about the baby when my friend asked them what will happen to his baby. And now the girl's people have told the girl to also cut tiles with the guy and he should forget about the baby, that they will take care of the baby.
My friend is confused, he needs advice, he said he wants to be part of the baby's life.How will an innocent child suffer for what he/she knows nothing about? This abolition of osu system in Igbo land is a big scam.
*WOW......I knew that the supposed Abolition was just in mouth alone....Please if you know you are Osu and start dating anyone,please open up before the relationship progresses.It will save both parties all the stress and heartache
Chai! Not this osu thing again
ReplyDeleteChai, this osu issue is getting out of hand, why are we so backward in this country ehn.
DeleteThe hard truth should be told. As at this moment I am typing this comment OSU IS STILL IN EXISTENCE. The free born don't marry the outcast.So my dear this issue is complicated, because OSU is contagious. I am VERY SORRY TO SAY THIS BUT I HAVE TO SAY IT. If your Guy marries you, you, your Guy and the children becomes OSU. @Blessed Princess
Deleteif osu is contagious as you said, it should be contacted via sex. so the guy is already an osu. why are people still doing this traditional segregation and after we will all claim to be Christians. chai! thank God we don't have such in my place. And please if you know you belong to this special people try and date the tribes that don't care. (the so called osu I know are very rich and the non osu come to beg from them)
DeleteThis Osu caste system comes up only when marriage failed. And it's only women that are badly hit. I am yet to see a man that complain about rejections and all that. Please let the Osu's tell us the other benefits of being an Osu. And they should ask themselves why are their elders (grand parents and parents) not worried. I guess there is a secret they don't want to let out.
Delete@ Cheesi, thank you very much!! All the 'osu' people I know are very wealthy and even have the so-called "non-osus" as employees. I don't even understand this false sense of superiority. Why then are we claiming Christianity if we only pick the parts that are convenient?
DeleteI don't know why people regarded as ous bother to date other igbos. Just look for a non igbo to date and marry. Nigeria has over 200 ethnic groups. Save yourself the heartache.
DeleteThis is so sad!!!come someone tell us why they are osu?so we know the history
ReplyDeleteAbi o. I tire for this osu thing. Even my spiri koko born again room mate could not marry the guy she really loved because of this osu thing. The guy really really loved her and brought out the best in her but nbanu they did not marry.
DeleteAnon 15:28 I truly doubt the genuineness of any spirikoko who gives this reason for not marrying someone. You didn't even say a new/baby Christian. Some of the people claiming spirikoko are just noisemakers with no substance.
DeleteMrs Sharon Aminu - the reason for choosing to carry on degrading human beings by calling them "osu" isn't even clear to all Igbos. The bottom line is we were told "osu means slaves to the gods". But from then onwards, it gets confusing. Cos some are not sure if "dedicated to the gods" means "slaves to the gods" or if that's "ohu" or if they're different. The how and why, is difficult cos we all got told different stories. And some of the stories weren't really stories or explanations - just "don't do it fullstop ". If you're confused, it's not your fault. We too, have no idea what we're doing...
Wow..then there no significant reasons why they just lebel some set of people "osu" then..this is so confusing.
DeleteOSU are the people that were sacrificed to the Oracle in the olden days. @Blessed Princess
DeleteOsu were the people that ran to shrines for protection so that the influential ones cannot sell them during slave trade. After that people started avoiding them in other not to incure the anger of the god
Deletewe are so backwards and naive. The man is still looking for advice? what for? Just do court wedding a d be with her. it's just name
ReplyDeleteJust name you say? ?are you igbo ??
Deleteyou don't know igbos oo, they are so backward,they will excommunicate the man and his wife.These are real issues that their traditional rulers should worry about but look at them fighting about whether a traditional ruler or a governor or a catechist should break kolanut.mad people everywhere
DeleteSo Igbos are your problem, u will soon choke on your bile.
DeleteMhiz A what is false in what Zainab said? Where is the bile? You yourself reiterated her point down there so why being defensive when she said the obvious truth? If the topic was about the almajiris in tje north or some harmless traditions practiced by others you all will file out in droves to castigate so allow others comment in peace.
DeleteU asking what's false in what she said? Then go back and read her comment. Why term Igbos backward? Has she met all the Igbos or she is generalizing based on the less than 0.1% that she has seen or interacted with. She can make her point without any derogatory remarks cos that's the bile she was spewing and if not careful will choke her.
DeleteNa wah oo. In this decade?
ReplyDeleteIf I were the lady ehn, he & his family will never have access to that child. Never!
Igbo demons this is your table. Come and help your blooder o!
ReplyDeleteAturu Gambia
DeleteThis osu ish is getting out of hands..haba! At this age and time
ReplyDeleteThis is the old problem on every chronicle; why rush to get pregnant instead of rushing to pay bride price?
ReplyDeleteNow an innocent baby is caught in your crossfire.
Some families want the girl pregnant first
Delete@15:58
DeleteSo if family been want make she (you) kill her mama before
them marry am, you go rush go do am?
You see how ya reasoning dey come only through ya atu eh?
I been don dey talk am say na girl dey decide if marriage abi na
fork or born pikin fit happen, no be man or family. Na the power wey God
give we women be dat one; our no na no im be.
anon 15:15 Thank you. This could have been avoided if they went for the first introduction before getting pregnant
DeletePlease Igbos come together and abolish this act for real. Young and old. It is time. We are all human. You talk about a united Biafra, so what is all this?
ReplyDeleteRubbish!!!! Igbos are really in bondage. No wonder, they are non progressive. Stella, why are you using this blog to encourage OSU or whatever in this age.mtcheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew
ReplyDeleteHow is she supporting it? Can't you see she's against it or you can't read? Mumu
DeleteNawa!some of our african cultures sha.
ReplyDeleteHow come you (friend) come score offside goal na? Dat friend you yarn there na make we no rebuke ya rod for drilling hole for middle of nowhere eh?
ReplyDeleteNa dat ya rod be the real "outcast". The (Naija) sisi just mess up to come open atu for you unnecessarily. Now, referee say game don finish, make una no kill that innocent pikin throway o.
Make you man up and go ahead and marry her. Abi when you dey drill tohtoh, e feel like outcast tohtoh eh?
...Always making sense.
Deletetire ooo, tell us. was the tohtoh shouting outcast ,,,outcast when you were doing the jungle over
Delete@googotee
DeleteE bi like say I don understand am.
Na "atu cast" im mean; fork and cast away na them way.
and it wont be good for him to cut his family off. thats is why i dont advise belle before marriage. she would have avoided this. if you are from an Osu caste, quietly marry a non igbo.
ReplyDeletePlease, stop saying such insensitive things. The first guy I dated was Yoruba - pastor's child. Only for him to tell me that his father who was (abi is) a Sunday School teacher, told him that "Shebi he knows there are places in Igboland people don't go" and he should ask me! That was the day I started to see his father for what he was - a fraud. This man was even a church marriage counsellor in a very popular church with branches all over the world that insists on their marriage counselling for intending couples. So in my mind, I wondered what he would say to any couple that comes to him with such an issue. That means all talk of the blood of Jesus they make, means nothing! It's not me that any man can think he's doing a favour by marrying. When I dumped the guy, I made it clear to him that it was his family - and not him - that I couldn't trust. And he was too weak. Cos they will pull another traditional stunt tomorrow and he'll just stand there. If you're claiming you're following Jesus, do so.
DeleteThe problem I have with the girl in question is she didn't tell the man that there will be an issue down the line. She deliberately hid something important, knowing full well that it's the first thing that will be flagged during the "iju esee". There are some people I have heard of who when faced with this kind of circumstance, have damned the consequences and clung to God. And they turned out well. But as she knowingly agreed to get pregnant before marriage, I'm not sure which God they're planning to call on now. The only One that could have stepped in, is the One they've gone to annoy by purposely starting with a faulty foundation - cos "modernity". Wo, me I don't know what to tell you abeg.
Anon 16:07 you are wise
Deletewhat is insensitive in what i said now? she didnt take precaution and thats the fact
DeleteAnon 17:18 I meant the part where you said "... Osu caste, quietly marry a non-Igbo". That's what is insensitive.
DeleteWhat is insensitive about advising her to marry a non ibo? Did you tell your ancestors that called yoou outcasts about the blood of Jesus and the waters of baptism? Why then did you find issues with the poor yoruba man that was only looking out for his son?
DeleteYou sound just like my ex, always on the defensive when the osu issue is raised.
What is even OSU? There is no such thing anywhere. Communities in igbo land should stop misbehavibg. Between, the boy should ignore his family, move to where no one will see them and have his court wedding. With time, their stupid brain will calm down or they die biko.
ReplyDeleteWell this is how these practices end. Someone makes a sacrifice for someone they love and othersight follow suit. He loves his child. He loves the girl. Follow your heart and marry her. You won't be fully accepted by your igbo people but youight find that love is in fact enough. Good luck. It's a tough one but don't abandon the child. You honestly could cut off ties with the girl because she had no right to make this devideci for you. But love forgives all right.she was probably already in love with you and afraid you'd leave her. If you forgive her and love on her through this trying time, you may have a loyal loving wife for life.
ReplyDeleteI am not IBO but I know the abolishment of the OSU caste system is no scam. The thing is, it gas been a way of life and a belief culture for a very long time and you just should not expect mindsets to change in a day.
ReplyDeleteWhen you wanted to pound her you did not come to ask us if you should; did you?
ReplyDeleteWhen it is time to marry her, you suddenly finds out she is an "outcast" and you are asking us to
advise you.
Now here is your advise, finish up the work you started, you are now a father and she a mother and
do the the right thing by making her a wife. If you do otherwise, you are not a man but a fkboy.
That thing still dey reign?
ReplyDeletePoster so all ur friend is concerned about now is how 2 b part of his baby's life n not d girl's life? This thing wey una dey call love una sha understand d true Meaning? Y cant he go against all odds 2 b with d one he loves. Well if he cant marry an Osu then he shouldn't also b bothered about a child with an Osu blood.
Exactly
Delete1 million likes.
Delete👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Delete1trillion likes
Please can somebody enlighten me about the word "OSU" I don't know the meaning.
ReplyDeleteIt is so common in mainly IMO State.
DeleteThey are outcast from the ibo tribe.
Deletehow exactly are they outcast? i need proper clarification please
DeleteOsu means outcast. Basically in Igbo land it was believed that a long time ago there was war/ famine (not sure) and some group of people ran to the shrine abi evil forest for protection and the deity kept them safe so since then those people that were protected by the deity are seen as outcasts and cant associate with freeborns ie non outcasts
DeleteAnon 16:43, and they are also stupendously and filthy rich. Never ending source of wealth passed down to generations.
DeleteI am from Ngwaland (igbo too), we don't do OSU thing. Infact, the first time I heard about it was in secondary school, in the boarding school. I was confused, I started asking questions about that. It came up after a teacher called one student an outcast. Everyone was foaming, I am like what is that? Other students said, OSU. That's when I learned about it.
DeleteThan again other Igbos place a stigma on Ngwa people that they eat human beings. That one too, I heard in same secondary school. Because I have not witnessed any human being been killed before, or seen anyone eating human being. I lived in the village before going for boarding school, so If actually Ngwa people eat humans, I would have witnessed it. I am from Obingwa.
DeleteI remember when my brother was dating a girl back in uni, the very first thing she told him was she's Osu, my brother came back home and informed my parents and my dad told him to immediately discontinue the relationship.
ReplyDeleteIs a pity but this Osu thing has come to stay. We are all human beings if God can treat us equally, why can't we do same.
Tell your friend to forget about marrying the girl, if he goes ahead with the marriage, the family will excommunicate him.
He can care for the child even if they are not married. We Nigerians too get problems.
When it comes to OSU issue some part of igbos dont joke with it especially in imo,
ReplyDeleteIt is really an IMO state problem.
DeleteDo they have OSU in Oko, Anambra state?
ReplyDeleteCurrently in love with a dude whose surname is Nwosu
Lol anonymous...
DeleteThat some person's surname is Nwosu doesn't mean that the person is an...
But you need to ask questions in case your parents are the type that wouldn't entertain such decision to marry...
if Osu is not an issue where you are from you have no problem with that. just enjoy your relationship
DeleteAnonymous 15:34 People are categorised as "osu" in EVERY Igbo-speaking state. Nwosu is a popular surname that people from not only Anambra answer. In Anambra, you'll find more than one Nwosu family; some surnames by themselves don't necessarily indicate anything. If you know that anybody can make you shake with the possibility of mentioning this nonsense in the future, start your "iju esee" now. Cos in the absence of a miracle, you will tell stories that touch.
DeleteThe abolishment of this rubbish is going to take a miracle. My maternal grandfather (he's late now but) was very influential in our hometown. I don't know how to explain it, but he was a kingmaker/politician. People would try to lobby to get his support even to become king (I don't know why any normal human being would want to be king, but I digress). My point is, if he said yes to a candidate for anything, they would get in. But even he couldn't persuade anyone to abolish the "osu" custom. This was in one town! This was like 20years ago. Igboland has more than one state, so I'm not sure how if the elders of one town couldn't be made to agree - what will happen with many states at the same time. Hence my saying it will take a miracle.
Nwosu doesn't mean the person is Osu. That's a short form of names like 'nwaosuji'
DeleteNwaosu is Nwabataosu. When a child arrives things happen. It doesn't mean child of osu. That's my surname and we are diala. Its a pity this osu thing is still in existence
DeleteAnonymous 16:63, what are you even saying,talking out off point. Go and sit down
DeleteNa wah o.. I don't know what to advise your friend. Since this osu thing has become esu
ReplyDeleteThat's some messed up situation. People should stop playing smart and open up on their flaws, esp. the type that can't be hidden.
ReplyDeleteThat's some messed up situation. People should stop playing smart and open up on their flaws, esp. the type that can't be hidden.
ReplyDeleteHow is being osu a flaw?
Deleteto be fair i doubt she might know shes an osu. Some kids dont know, especially if he/she wasnt born and raised in the village its till when its time for introduction thats when both families will start investigation.
DeleteI don't think there's a way a family won't know they're osu, unless her parents hid it from her. Most parents will tell their children though so that they can avoid issues like this
DeleteAnon 16:46 I doubt that she didn't know. If you read the write-up, it says she gave one excuse. Not that she didn't know. I wasn't raised in the village but I knew things about my father's house; things that were supposed to be hidden from me but clarified some things when I was about to get married. Fortunately, they were not bad things. It's rare for a child raised in Nigeria not to know some things that will impact them. Even if you're not told outright, you'll hear conversations among adults.
DeleteI believe she knew all along. She prolly thought since it's 21st century it doesn't matter. Welp! This is Africa and tradition is tradition.
DeletePlease tell the intended couple to let go. You can't fight your village people all your life, being married is enough work.
Poster, anybody that believes osu would be abolished will wait for a long time. Most of this traditional leaders are enjoying the pains and trouble the issue is generating.
ReplyDeleteThank God it's the lady that is the "Osu" ( although it's meaningless because nobody has the right to reduce anyone to that level). It would have been more difficult to sort it out.Tell your friend to take his Close friends to the girl's family and pay the dowry then proceed to registry for their wedding.
With time everyone will calm down and let them be.
This reminds me of'no longer at ease'by Chinua Achebe,hope i am correct sha.The situation is messed up. if your friend finally marries her,love may not be enough for them oo
Delete@zainab makas spot on, Obi and Clara, chai!
DeleteThat scam that they did and said it was abolished. Those that gathered to do that, if you ask for their children's hand in marriage, I bet they won't accept that. But why didn't the girl tell him that she is an... When she noticed that the relationship was becoming something serious. She engaged in deception because she knew she was an...
ReplyDeleteHadn't been she never knew,...
The girl in question may have been blinded by love, and afraid too, that she might loss the guy. But getting pregnant was going too far while holding vital information from the guy in question. My parents can never let me marry an Osu even with all their Christianity. Is a pity
DeleteShe shouldn't have done what she did, dis is not a movie
DeletePlease im yoruba. can someone explain what osu is? are igbos not the same? what exactly is osu and how are they not part of igbo?
ReplyDeleteThe girl was wrong for not telling him before hand. Boya she wanted to trap him with the pregnancy, see where it has landed them now.
ReplyDeleteMe i sha rejected one ibo guy from Enugu, bros said he couldnt marry his ex gf bcos her father threatened to kill himself if she went ahead to marry him. I got to know the guy was an Osu and had inferiority complex bcos of that. Me i jejely started giving him space, dont want my kids to be discriminated upon for something they know nothing about.
Hanty just say the truth that you can't marry him cause of tradition called him not using the kids talk as an excuse, there's basically no difference between you and those racists after you people will be shouting racism and one nigeria yet you are part of the problem
DeleteYour ancestors called you outcasts not me, Direct your anger at them! Would you call the father that threatened suicide if his daughter marries an osu racist? Your fellow ibos reject you and it's ok but when a non ibo does it becomes racist okwaya? The osu thing doesnt exist where i come from but i dont want my kids to be discriminated upon because of the "sins" of their father so I jump and pass.
DeleteOh so sad. The girl should have told him from the onset. This osunthing is a big problem, even grand kids of osu in other villages are regarded as osu, where I come from.
ReplyDeleteThe girl should have married from a different tribe, those ones don’t know what this osu is all about.
It’s about time this stigma ended. It’s too much
If a Mantu’s son can marry an Igbinedion daughter in this our country, why will two ibos marrying become a problem? Why do we look for problems were there aren’t any?
ReplyDeleteA MAntu son can marry an igbinedion, but cannot marry someone whose father doesn't have a "name" .
DeleteChai!!!
DeleteYour friend and is a wayo girl and must have been disappointed so many times by different suitors who found her to be an Osu so this time she decided to get pretty first before any story. She would have married a non igbo instead leading the guy on . She deserves whatever she's getting and I want to believe she's better off with the baby and not the suitor in question.I wish her the best and will not advice any person to marry an Osu. Her keeping quiet makes it more suspicious
ReplyDeleteA lady made a comment sometime here. She said a guy proposed to her. She told the guy to give her some days to think about it. Two days later she called the guy and told him she has a two year old son and the guy dropped the phone. That lady is my MVP. Whatever that you know might bring a comma in your relationship tomorrow. Please bare it all. You are Igbo. You know the way Igbos view Osu. If you happen to find yourself in this category. Immediately a guy approach you. That should form one of your first discussion. Same with men. Immediately you approach a lady. That should form part of your immediate discussion. Say it even when no one asked you about it. Who will stay will stay and who will leave will leave. eg Hello dear, what is your name. My name is Amanda. I am from Ala. I am 80 years old. I have two children. I am divorced/separated. I am an outcast. I am gay, I am a lesbian. Just say the necessary things. Don't wait to be asked. Don't give room to anything that will make you cry hand-I-known tomorrow. Most of the chronicles is because of what we saw in the opposite partner. We entered with our eyes closed thinking miracle will happen along the lane.
ReplyDeleteTo the guy. Allow that lady move on with her life. From your post. All you are interested is the child and not her. What happens if that child is a boy. Will you give him your surname?. Osu is not ending anytime soon. It is well with the lady. Someone who will value her will locate her and marry her and take the child as his own.
1 million likes for your comment
DeleteSo now that the guy is fathering a child from an OSU, he should automatically be an OSU, it should not only be about marriage.
DeleteN.a. wa. It's well @ poster. I dont have words. Prayer may work, but if there's no agreement, the battle gets tougher.
ReplyDeleteIf the guy isn't going to marry her, he should forget about any claims to the child. Traditionally, as far as he hasn't paid her brideprice (meaning he hasn't married her), he has no right whatsoever where she or the child is concerned. Let him know that even if the child is his spitting image, if another man comes and traditionally marries the girl, that man becomes the recognised father of the child. So, he should do whatever he needs to do.
ReplyDeleteWhy did the girl lie? This is not something you hide, fgs! As long as you plan to do traditional marriage, it will come out in the initial stage. I don't know what to advise you, oh.
What advice does he want. Something of this nature was handled on brekete family.the boy's family wanted the child by fire by force. Then l met a guy who was osu and babes would take him for a ride. Date him, he would take very good care of them(would have told them he is osu initially and they would reassure him). Then once he mentions marriage rites, stories change. Adviced him to opt for a non Ibo girl. He's married to a Yoruba lady mow with a daughter
ReplyDeleteIt will surprise many to know that those who are directly involved with this osu whatever go ahead and marry non-osu and make no noise about it, whereas those who hear it from tradition and them say people will still carry it on the head like hair.
ReplyDeleteNow this is my advice, i'm not igbo but so i'll speak from the biblical aspect, i'm sorry but i dont recommend catholic for anyone, it is filled with laws, rites and rituals and only support the igbo tradition further, if this guy attends a bible and faith believing church/es, you will know firstly that getting the lady pregnant was not an option, however since it has happened, you should know christ gives a second chance.
Romans 8 vs 1 says , there's therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, you have been bought with a price, i.e the blood of Jesus in replacement for osu caste demon, old things have past away and all things have become new.
My advice to this young man is to seek the face of God and carry this girl along in faith through Christ. Do not because of tradition and idiolatry incure the wrath of the most high God,this is a second chance, use it wisely.
You are very silly for condemning the Catholic Church. Bible believing church my foot. Is it not pentecostal churches that are always talking about generational curses and ancestral foundation? FYI the Catholic Church does not wed you until after the bride price is settled to avoid issues like this later on. Face the matter at hand and stop condemning my faith out of your ignorance. Family refused to welcome a suitor or lady and you want a Catholic priest to use araldite to join them together by force. Carry placard and start a protest against this issue beginning from your church. Hypocrite! Sdk don't chew this comment pls. Thank you in advance.
DeleteIyawo pasitor instead of condemning tje Catholic church, recommend your husbands church where there are no rites and rutuals, rubbish!
Delete@Niyi, u don't recommend Catholic church to anyone u say? Ikwakwakwakwa. My dear, we have more than enough members and therefore don't need you. So biko, stay in your so called bible believing church in peace and leave us out of your shenanigans.
DeleteAnakogheri BS
This is so sad. Christianity in Igbo land is a big scam. Every one be forming Christian until their faith is tested and then they show their true colour.
ReplyDelete#gbagam 😂😂😂
DeleteSo painful.the same happened to my cousin.i agree with you Stella.
ReplyDeleteI believe the first question an Igbo person should be asked in a potential relationship is if they were Osu. Besides, the Osu people should marry themselves or non-Igbo people to avoid all these pain and heartbreak that they are constantly subjected to. I know a guy who damned his family and married his Osu wife at a registry. They've relocated abroad and he cut off all ties back home. He said he should be cremated abroad when he dies. He's never coming back home. That is a man who truly understands love.
ReplyDeleteExactly! That's a very important question to ask. After all, people with AS/SS ask potential spouses about their genotype. If your family is 'Osu' you should find someone who is compatible with you.
DeleteReally???is osu a life threatening situation?
DeleteYes, for the girl in this post it is life threatening and can mess up her emotions for the rest of her life. Why not protect yourself instead of putting yourself at risk of this kind of heartbreak? Not only has she put herself at risk, she has put her child in a bad place. My parents are separated and I can tell you that I still wish everyday that they were together. It was also one of the first things I told any man who asked my hand in marriage because I know some families look down on people like me. I protected myself!
DeleteThank you. All these young people are not serious...if they all take this stand the osu bullshit will end. Mass mass mass all forming “Christians” and fake christian mothers, knights legion of this and that yet have no single anointing or relationship with the Holy Spirit...fake people
DeleteThe reverend fathers nko? Hypocrites, supporting traditions that oppress people
DeleteThe girl made a mistake by not disclosing that she was OSU now everyone is expecting the guy to 'man-up' and go along with her.
ReplyDeleteI'm not of the opinion that the OSU ish should be adhered to but the issue is that people's mindset can't just be changed in a minute or over a table of kolanut called 'OSU abolishing ceremony'.
I don't blame the boy's family for cutting ties with d lady and warning their son to do same, u know why? This OSU caste system is a deep shit. I mean VERY deep something.
Do u know the consequences of the guy defying all odds and marrying the lady? At least in my own part of Anambra state, they include and not limited to;1. The entire community will regard his family as OSU, that is, including his parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, etc. 2.All these people that have been indirectly 'roped' into the OSU sh will find it difficult to marry, people will start to discriminate against them. Imagine someone coming for his sister's hand in marriage, on inquiry they were told that her brother married an OSU wan time wan time, automatically those people re going to run away.
I read some comments telling the guy to go to a registry and wed and that his family will come to after some time( years), my dear BVs, even before that guy finishes that wedding, his father must have ' maa ekwe' in the whole community, informing the clan that so and so has ceased to be his son, should anything happen to him, he wouldn't want u at his burial, he will also disinherit u from anything u hold or occupy in d family, if the father fails to do this, then automatically, the whole community will address them all as osus by the simple reason that his son wedded an OSU. So dear poster, don't blame your friend's mother for her attidunal change towards the gal, she is merely trying to protect her family and other kids from being labelled OSU.
This is why I see someone who knowingly goes ahead to be with an OSU as selfish cos your action does not just have an effect on u but the entirety of your family. Your sisters will find it difficult to get married, your parents might suddenly see themselves relegated to the back benches in the community gathering, if your father is a titled man, say, like an Ozo he might be made to leave the group all because his son married an OSU.
So, if your friend is willling to make his family go through all these or he will just bone it and be disowned by them, then by all means, let him go ahead.
But he should remember that his kids will still grow and start asking questions about their ancestry, what will he say then? Those kids might still face the same challenges the OSU's are facing now, do u think they will forgive u for making them go through such?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not pro OSU, I really wish something could be done to totally wipe the shit out of human history, but till that is done let everyone tread with caution.
As for your friend, he might choose not to marry the lady on the ground of deception. Even the Catholic church that doesn't condone divorce might grant it if one party was deceived or was told a lie. As for the baby, he can always be in his/her life by providing all he should for his child. Davido isn't married to any of his baby mamas but he is definitely in his girls' lives. So your friend should borrow a leaf from the Davido.
Wow🙄🙄🙄this is serious
DeleteMhiz A - Some of these things you've written are things that make me ashamed of my ancestry. I was too ashamed to tell my husband that I'm from a royal house because of the realisation of what my ancestors did to human beings that God created. My husband is from a different tribe.
DeleteYou're not pro "osu" yet see the way you're ranting without compassion, as if you have a PhD in "osu studies" that you're defending. Talking about children forgiving a person, if both parents are so-called "osu" won't they be too? In that case, who will the children be angry with?
I see comments like your own and pray that God will forgive my lineage for this wicked discrimination we have instituted against people that He loves. And that He will give my generation the wisdom and courage to undo what our fathers did in error, so that human beings can stop suffering unnecessarily.
Thank you for writing all what I didn't have strength to write.
DeleteSad thing is that the boy and his family can't claim the child because the child is supposedly 'tainted'. He will just be in his child's life but his child will have no traditional inheritance in his village.
The Osu thing is so deep. When they said they abolished it in December, I was just laughing. I don't think it can be abolished in the next 100years. Even clergymen will not let their kids marry osu because of these implications you have listed.
My part of Igbo land does not practice Osu caste system but when I was going to get married, my dad asked me if my husband was Osu. I was like 'daddy, even you?' But then he was trying to protect his future grandkids cos me marrying an osu might not affect me but will affect my kids.
Ike gwụrụ jare!
Ezigbo ike gwuru Ada my sister.
DeleteIf this is how we reason despite our education and Christianity, then I think the black race has a long way to go! I tell people, Christianity in Nigeria is a SHAM . Whom the son of man has set free, is free indeed . For in Christ there is neither bond nor free, Greek nor Jew but Christ is all and in all.
DeleteLet's not be angry when the white man discriminate against the black man because we're worse off- who tradition help?
You people can imagine what an educated young lady is so passionate about, in this 21st century. Chai I smh at Mhiz A.
DeleteI'm seeing you in a different light from today.
See the way you illustrated the Osu caste system. Tueh.
Human beings are the most wicked creatures.
I thank God my family left Nigeria, after the ill treatment they melted on us when my dad died. These were our so called morning-mass- going uncles. They collected all my father's property from my mom and asked us to vacate the house.
I'm sure you type will come out one-day and write a long story supporting this horrible act because it's a tradition.
Channel your passion to a healthy course other than this my dear.
Shut up hypocrite. You see those who defy their parents to marry osu as selfish yet you don’t support the osu culture.. shut up....so if you stand for what is right and your family disowns you how is that a bad thing? If you have your nuclear family to keep you happy must you die cos extended family does not want to talk to you? Must I go back to my village for anything? If am dead who cares what happens to my corpse? So if my parents die and am not allowed to go for their funeral will I commit sucide....look this life is only as serious as you want to take it...till this generation decide to danm all odds osu will not end...u claim to be a christian and justifying such bullshit is annoying...it’s obvious the Catholic Church has also done nothing to help eradicate this shameless practice...
DeleteWe travel across the sea, Europe,Asia,South America and even all part of Nigeria to get married, yet we curse our own. Igbos wake up. Its 2019.
ReplyDeleteBV
ReplyDeleteIs the implication of marrying an osu applicable to a foreigner and living abroad?
Yes! Your kids will be called osus and will face this same problem in future when getting married to ibo spouses, unless they choose to marry non ibos or foreigners.
DeleteTell him please, please tell him, he has fathered an OSU Child.
ReplyDeleteTell him if he wants to be a part of an OSU child's life, he should also be willing to be a part of the OSU mother's life.
But please emphatically tell him that as he stands today abandoning a woman for being OSU, he should also prepare himself for the reality that will hit him soon; his child, his blood will be rejected for being OSU.
Tell him that when that day comes, he should get ready to say that being OSU is irrelevant.
Please also tell him that he who brought forth an OSU, has himself become ONE!!!!!!!!!
please don't forget to tell him that he is a COWARD, held hostage by relics of an antiquated, meaningless, useless culture and for that reason I reject him.
Gbagam
DeleteThey should go and get married in the church and abscond.
ReplyDeleteThey should go and get married in the church and abscond. Bcx the guy's family wl never accept that baby if they go separate way now.
ReplyDeleteBackward culture.
ReplyDeletethis is igbo Culture the girl should have told him earlier
ReplyDeleteNa wah for this osu issue!
ReplyDeleteEven among the same tribe, there is segregation and discrimination. What a shame!! This is the twenty first century things like this should no longer be in practice anymore. Common people!! Stop this Osu of a thing!
That fight is for a rich and independent man. Many in my village snubbed their families and married their babes. Today almost all their families have accepted them. Lady, since the man cannot fight for you, run away with your pregnancy.
ReplyDeleteI heard that a good % of the Igbos marrying Yorubas (its now very common) are the ones Igbo people call Osus. If she wasn't pregnant I would have advised her to marry outside her tribe and even race. What if an Igbo man marries Oyinbo or African American (confirmed slave descendants)?
ReplyDeleteThese inane and archaic traditions need to be pushed aside and allowed to die by the younger generation. Its unbelievable just like a picture of what one man posted that his friend paid for the wife. The picture had enough items to open a small grocery store. Then the guy beats the woman he "bought" and the conflict of old and new starts because modernity forbids domestic violence. Same modernity should remove the OSU cast and the staggered bride price that makes some people wait till 40years to marry!
Disgusting , shame on you IBOS. Who 're you lots to discriminate again God creature in comparison to you gods that can not speak or eat.
ReplyDeleteImagine the level of reasoning of these generation commentators , I am really disappointed in your tribe. Yet you call them biafra when it suits you and refer to them as OSU when it is not.
Yet your men abroad will marry useless oyinbo prostitute, even with mental health problems , loads here , yet you are discriminating against your own. CRY FOR UNA
Need to here from OSU on this blog. Any OSU celebrity pls.
The comments of our young Igbos lack determination and a fiery fighting spirit, and disgust against this wickedness. Did they not kill twins and ostracise their mothers in Calabar area? Now people will do anything to get twins. Mary Slessor, a caucasian led the fight to abolish that wicked practice.
ReplyDeleteI am not criticizing any culture but a culture that has your fate sealed even before you were born is retrogressive and the youth must lead the fight to stand up to these backward elders who are living in 1700s to stop it. My Igbo best friend pointed out that the reason Yorubas have the most twins born naturally in the WORLD(google it) is because while others were killing them, they were pampering them. If you listen to the traditional praise poem Yorubas read to twins you will see that they appreciated them even when they didn't understand the science behind it. Same with marriage. As a professional(highly desired field) college grad in my youth, my parents collected the equivalent of N30 today from my in-laws.
We have some things in Yoruba culture too that need to go., The geriatric misogyny masquerading as "respect" which has filtered into Lagos and SW politics of god-fatherism is from the culture. Solomon had more wisdom than Methuselah. We need to be at the forefront of abolishing antiquated traditions in all tribes and move into the digital age. How can you be a"slay"queen on instagram and be an "OSU"? or any random person and be told you are "OSU".
Let us move together into the modern world and stop discrimination like the apartheid era and Jim Crow era in our communities. It's not going to provide infrastructure, good roads and an inalienable right to pursue opportunities and happiness given by our God when you are ostracized by the community. To those wrongly labeled outcast, must you go to the village? I'm not Igbo or Osu but the last time I visited my parents home town was in the early nineties. Lagos is where we all lived. if all those classified "outcast" boycott the villages and marry non Igbos let us see if the practice will remain after some years.
All these harmful traditional practices should stop please.
ReplyDeleteTo the ones abusing every Igbo, I beg you - not EVERY one of us is in support of this practice. I am Igbo and I am ashamed to read/hear some things. I wasn't yet a teenager the first time I truly began to understand this. My mother's youngest sister (who was a staunch MFM member) was talking about it. I still vividly remember the derogatory way she talked about human beings who didn't choose the families they were born into. Her father was a kingmaker/politician in our hometown and he was one of those trying to abolish it. Yet, here his MFM-attending, natural hair, long skirt, no earrings, no jewelry, no makeup, long-sleeve wearing daughter was - sitting in town and denouncing human beings for no reason. I asked her what exactly the Bible says; she answered with so much venom and hatred, relying on a man-made tradition that her own father was trying hard to abolish in the village. This was 20+ yrs ago - I will never forget. That was the first time I felt such shame at being related to certain people. That was when I confirmed that looking or sounding spirikoko means nothing; you can look a certain way, yet have a demonic heart.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to read meaning into what may not be there, but I find it difficult to believe it's a coincidence that many people who are labelled "osu" tend to be quite wealthy and accomplished - whether home or abroad. And when they marry, they tend to marry people who love them and virtually worship them. Maybe it's God's way of standing up for or compensating them. My aunt that was voltron-ing is still not married till today, and it's not by choice. Some of us will keep going from church to church, carrying curses that hurt people have heaped on us cos we see bad and call it good. Igbos will be screaming about being marginalised, yet see our shame outside. And some are forming diala status on top of wickedness. Culture and tradition gbagbukwa unu. Is it until a Mary Slessor arrives, that we will have sense?
My father's family is royal and I don't know what to say except I am so sorry for what some of us have done to you if we have said you are "osu". I say "us" even if I wasn't there, cos bloodline. I truly don't understand how anyone can be entrusted in a position of leadership, yet not assist the vulnerable but rather increase their burden. I'm deeply sorry and ashamed cos wrong is wrong.
I watched on tv where all some Igbo Kings abolished it and even apologized for the wrongs they have done to the people tagged outcasts . I will look for he clip shortly and share. I knew it was just talk no do as same thing happend to a close friend
ReplyDelete