THE ROLE OF OMBATSE IN MORAL REFORM AMONG THE EGGON PEOPLE OF NASARAWA STATE

Abstract

The paper focuses on the role of Ombatse in moral reform amongthe Eggon people of Nasarawa State. Ombatse is an upshot of Eggon Traditional Religion. Africa Traditional Religion is a religion that inculcates morality in the lives of the adherents. The inculcation of morality is compulsory because of the consequences that one will face if he/she go against the lay down teachings of the community he/she belong to. The Eggon people, who were adherents of Africa Traditional Religion, also maintain high level of morals among themselves. The upholding of these morals has helped in the collective wellbeing and prosperity of the Eggon land. But with the coming of civilization, Christianity and Islam, the known morality among the Eggon went into blink. The paper also focuses on factors that led to decline in the upholding of morality, and how Ombatse helped in moral reforms among the Eggon people of Nasarawa State. The paper also explains what Ombatse is all about, in other to correct the wrong notion of the public on the term Ombatse. It is obvious that the coming of Ombatse among the Eggon people really helped in the upholding of high moral standard, and it also helped in the communal unity of the Eggon people. The youths were once again reminded of the dos and don'ts. A Historical research method is adopted in the gathering of data for this paper.