IWA AND OMOLUABI: A PHILOSOPHICAL ANALYSIS OF THE YORUBA ETHICAL CONCEPTS ON RAPE CULTURE

Abstract

Despite the inherent nature of a human being to explore and experience his own sexuality, it remains one of the least discussed subjects in the circles of humanity. The perceived sacredness and secrecy of sexuality-related discourse among the African societies have led to gross inabilities to effectively study and relate the influences of cultures on African sexuality. However, the increasing prevalence of the mass media (including social media) has led to a massive awareness of sexuality and its attendant consequences in our societies. Increase in the occurrence of gender-based violence, such as rape, is an indication of a widespread moral decadence and flagrant disregard for human basic rights. Nigeria, being a socio-centric society, places an onus of shame on rape victims, which prevents the victims of such violence from opening up about their traumas, with perpetrators going further to commit greater offences leading to more breakdowns of law and order. Hence, it is imperative to utilise socio-cultural approaches to demystify the problem of sexual violence in Nigeria. This paper philosophically analyses the ethical and deontological perceptions of the Yoruba society on sexual violence. These include the preventive structures embedded in the Yoruba culture to curtail sexual violence and misdemeanours and the attendant consequences of perpetrating sexual violence. This paper also recommends the indigenous Yoruba society paradigms of altruism and critical appraisals of the omoluabi and iwa ethos, as evident in the Yoruba Ifa corpus and general ways of life, as panacea for the prevailing incidence of rape culture in the Nigerian society. This is because the Yoruba ethical concepts of altruism, omoluabi and Iwa are thoroughly against social vices in the human societies.