IGWEBUIKE, INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY IN AFRICAN ETHICS

Abstract

The concept of Igwebuike as a philosophy of inclusive action in unity still respects the individual person in the African world view. Igwebuike is possible when the individuals congregate, defined by a common interest as a goal. The individuals, therefore, make up the Igwe (populace, unison, people) that exercises or has the enormous Ike (Strength). Hence, Igwe is Ike. By and large, the morality or the ethical demand of the individual is not lost amidst the population or in the Igwe, with regard to the exercise of Ike; rather, the individual is responsible for every action within the Igwe, and the Igwe, via individual actions, has a cooperate responsibility to bear and as such there is an individual responsibility in Igwebuike as regards African ethics. The act of belonging within the African community entails a duty within the limits of the communal ethics. Applying the method of critical analysis, this paper explores and finds out that the communalistic relationship between Igwebuike and the individual person is within the bounds of African Ethics.