Anambra Govt Adopts Dec. 28 Date For Abolition Of Osu Caste In Igboland

“In the Igbo tradition, the Osu are said to be dedicated to deities (Alusi) while the Ohu are said to be slaves by birth.
“The Osu caste system has stigmatized sections of communities in the Southeast, depriving them of access to social interaction and marriages with belief that any ‘free born’ that marries an osu defiles the family.
"This obnoxious act, however, leads to investigations by elders before any marriage is contracted between two families, especially when from different communities.”

“The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, Indigenous Artwork, Culture and Tourism has been inundated with your efforts in raising awareness on the traumatic stigma of Osu/Ohu/ Ume caste system.
“As a ministry, we also commend your selfless and bold commitment to the abolition of this demeaning caste system in the land.
“Consequently, we wish to express our unflinching support for abolishing the scourge of this unfortunate practice in Igbo land.
 
“We, therefore, have no reservation whatsoever in endorsing your project to abolish the Osu practice.”

“We will ensure that the exercise is a huge success. We are all in agreement that this is long overdue. We can’t continue like this. One of the reasons God kept some of us alive is to see that things like these are abolished from our lands. And we will do this and save our generation and race from self-destruction and extinction,”