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| Photo by Olalekan Oduntan © |
How must men and women interact to produce harmony and efficiency in a community?
The extract below is taken from the Odu Osetura.
The ese Ifa shows the interaction between men and women in the formation of harmony in the society:
Osun approached Orunmila
And asked, “Were you the fellow who slept with me last night?”
Orunmila responded with, “Were you the one I slept with last night?”
Orunmila said, “Because you didn’t ask me privately,
Was the reason I didn’t confess.”
Osun said, “No problem.”
She said, “It is well.”
On the tenth month after the occurrence
They heard the cry of a baby being born
As she was giving birth to a child
Who turned out to be a boy
When they named the child
They said, “This is the child that Osun had under placation,
His name will be Osetura, Child of placation.”
If it is true that the most important thing in the world is human life, it makes sense that the production of children is one of the most fundamental and crucial creative activity in the society.
That important duty involves men and women.
The ese Ifa called Osetura cited above illustrates the cooperation between women and men in the production of children.
With the conclusion of the presidential primary elections in Nigeria, not a single woman was on the ballot. It is an all-male affair. The primary elections are not only dominated by men, they are totally exclusive to men.
Women are totally sidelined into spectators.
Is it not already clear that the process is fundamentally in error, against the normal function of life, bound to be barren, unproductive and a waste of human and natural resources?
Osetura shows us that men and women are equally important, and must play a balancing role for the union to be productive and rewarding.
By Moyo Okediji
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