Igbo Legal Advice to a European Law Firm

 By Biko Agozino 

  A Paralegal at a Solicitor Law Firm once wrote to me out of the blues seeking advice about a case that touched on Igbo belief systems. I was told that he came across my details while researching the family law proceedings that his firm was handling. They were looking for a court expert to hopefully advise about 'threats' by a "Nigerian father to place a curse on the mother of his unborn child" 

The threats were said to specifically reference a shrine that was suspected to be 'Okija Shrine in Anambra State or a shrine of similar reputation and function.' They were looking for someone with the 'requisite expertise to comment on the culture and beliefs' of the worshippers and 'the significance of the curses the father has laid on the mother through and using his child as the conduit.'

I was told that appointment as a court expert would come with 'a remuneration from the legal aid agency'. Without quoting my hourly rates for such a remuneration, I felt the need to offer immediate advice to the law firm for free. But since they did not acknowledge receipt of my instant response, I guessed that they did not agree with my comments and may have appointed someone else. They must have been overwhelmed with cases to find time to acknowledge receipt of my advice. 

I have therefore decided to blog my advice here to see if I gave them good advice or if people who worship at such shrines or other lawyers would disagree with my advice. 

My Peacemaking advice may be supported by The Book of Forgiving by Tutu and by Martin Luther King Jr.'s Beloved Community. The Pepinsky and Quinney editorial on Criminology as Peacemaking that claims to be influenced by indigenous philosophies of non-violence may also be supportive of my advice. Finally, Carol Smart has reported relevant research evidence that lawyers who seek mediation and reconciliation were said to be better lawyers by clients than lawyers who seek adversarial approaches under the Family Law Act where there is no guilty party though the ruling may be in favor of one party; and any criminal matters, like violence against women, can be tried separately in a criminal court where the defendant would be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

What do you think about my anonymized and slightly edited response below, Dear reader? Did I say something wrong?

 Dear Paralegal, 

 Tell the expectant mother that I wish her all the best with the baby. She must not allow any stress to give her the impression that the baby is a conduit for a curse. The baby is a blessing who deserves to be loved to bits. Forgive the father if he says things under stress, love him and bless him as much as you can for he is also struggling with the huge responsibility of bringing another life into the world. 

Nobody can curse a mother who is bringing another child of Chukwu into this world. Make sure that the mother (and father too) gets 8 hours sleep every night and starts each day early with a healthy breakfast. Forgive those who curse you and love your enemies as yourself because sometimes, you are your own worst enemy. Forgive yourself too and love yourself unapologetically. 

 The Igbo do not believe in curses as threats to people who are upright. The neighbors of the Igbo believe more in witchcraft but the Igbo believe in good or bad Chi or personal God; and we say that if your Chi does not agree to any temptation, you will never be tempted or you will triumph in the name of the great God, Chukwu. 

The Igbo survived a genocidal civil war in Biafra where 3.1 million were killed in 30 months and they left it all in the hands of Chukwu without seeking revenge or laying curses on their enemies. As a result, the Igbo have been immensely blessed to the envy of many of their neighbors who still threaten and kill the Igbo in large numbers, according to Amnesty International. 

 Okija is a truth shrine where people in dispute could go to swear that they are telling the truth (as people swear on scriptures in court while many lie through their teeth; whereas sworn liars are afraid of being punished by the shrine). It is not a Voodoo doll for cursing anyone. 

In other words, if due to the stress of Covid, racism or economic precarity, the expectant father is pissing his pants and wondering how the hell he is going to raise this blessing coming to a world struggling with climate warming, the mother should show understanding and forgive him, treat him with tender loving care, and transform him with kindness into the more loving person she fell in love with. 

 But if the couple are determined to split up for their own sanity or safety, they should still aim to remain friends so that they can cooperate to raise the baby who deserves to have relationships with both mom and dad even if they cannot stand each other (unless they are considering giving up for adoption, or going for reproductive healthcare in the interest of the mother's legal and medical rights to choose). 

 Here is an article by Professor Nonso Okafo of the University of Nigeria Law Faculty with 53 references to alusi 'Ogwugwu Isiula' in Okija but with no reference to a curse, in the context of indigenous non-state law in AJCJS, a peer-reviewed academic journal that I edit for the African Criminology and Justice Association: https://www.umes.edu/uploadedFiles/_WEBSITES/AJCJS/Content/6%201%202%20okafo%20proof.pdf

Thanks for asking for my penny thoughts. Best wishes to the expectant mom and dad. 

Here is my reply to a comment on a different social media platform:

I agree, mental health services may be needed by the couple. My advice may contribute to the mental healing but I do not believe that being stressed as expecting parents means that they are crazy, it is normally a stressful experience, albeit a joyful one, to most too. The mother has the right to choose what to do with her own healthcare just like every other adult. The parents are required to contribute to the upbringing of their children but where they fall short, society should be there to support them with good publicly-funded schools, healthcare, housing, and well-paying employment opportunities.

And this to another comment elsewhere:

Getting mental health services is a call for them and the national health services to make, not for this doctor who has only a Ph.D. in Law and Society. The law firm asked for my knowledge of the culture and advice on the case for the court as an expert.

And this:

We have only heard one side of the story from the mother. Who knows if the father only swore that he was telling the truth and if he was lying, Okija should punish him, just like Fela said Na Truth I want talk again o, and if he dey lie, make Ogun punish him? I was asked for a legal opinion and knowledge of the culture rather than for a recommendation of a religious ritual in far away Europe. But you are right that it can be settled out of court with love and forgiveness like I said.

 Dr. Agozino is a Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA, and the Editor in Chief, African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies.