the News

Leo Igwe

Any one who says that Islam stands for peace should take a critical look at the recent killing of a schoolteacher by Muslim pupils in Northern Nigeria
On March 21 Mrs. Oluwatoyin Oluwaseesin was attacked and murdered in cold blood by students of Government Day Secondary School Gandu in Gombe State for allegedly desecrating the Koran.
On this fateful day, Mrs Oluwaseesin was assigned to invigilate students writing an examination on Islamic Religious Studies. But in the course of that, she noticed that one of the students came into the Hall with her school bag. She took it from her and put it away. Some reports said she dumped the bag on the floor. Whatever the case, the teacher’s action was followed by chanting of Allah Akbar-God is Great-by the students who said the bag contained a Koran. They accused her of desecrating it.
First of all they set her car ablaze. And later they seized her, stripped her naked, stabbed her to death and burnt her corpse. They later dumped the remains at the back of her burning car.
The students went on to raze down three classes, the school’s administrative block, library, and the clinic. They also attacked and injured the school principal who tried to shield the woman during the rampage. As often the case whenever there is a religious uprising in Northern Nigeria, the state government has set up a panel of inquiry to look into the matter. And Mrs. Oluwaseesin has since been buried in her hometown- Abeokuta……… (more…)

Leo Igwe

The Osu caste system is an obnoxious practice among the Igbos -in Nigeria-which has refused to go away despite the impact of Christianity, modern education and civilization, and the human rights culture. In this piece, I will argue that the Osu discrimination is an outdated tradition with no basis for its continued practice and observance in the contemporary Igbo society.
Traditionally, there are two classes of people in Igboland – the Nwadiala and the Osu. The Nwadiala literally meaning ‘sons of the soil’ are the freeborn. They are the masters. While the Osu are the slaves, the strangers, the outcasts and the untouchables…….. (more…)

By Leo Igwe
THE Enlightenment stands for the intellectual trends in 18th Century Europe that espoused the use of reason and science as a universal method for obtaining knowledge and solving human problems. The Enlightenment writers argued that the light of reason and science could free humanity from the darkness of ignorance, the burden of false beliefs, and the destructive influence of prejudices and superstition. They believed in liberty, equality, secular society, democracy and in the potential of education, science and technology transforming the human condition - reducing poverty, misery and diseases………. (more…)