AMAMIHE Volume 24 Number 3 2026

OMENANI AND THE ETHICS OF JUSTICE: A THEOLOGICAL APPRAISAL OF VALUE EROSION AND SOCIO-POLITICAL AGENCY AMONG THE MODERN IGBO

Charles Amobi Ekweozor, PhD
Abstract

The contemporary Igbo society faces an existential crisis characterized by the erosion of core cultural values and a diminishing socio-political influence within the Nigerian state. This study posits that this decline is rooted in a fragmented understanding of traditional Igbo religio-cultural institutions and cosmologies. This research aims to facilitate a "justice-consciousness" reawakening, arguing that the resilience of pre-colonial Igbo society was predicated on cosmological principles that positioned justice as the central ontological framework. Employing a methodology that integrates theological analysis with a "gap approach," the paper critiques the divergence between ancestral value constructs and modern perceptions. By examining the principles of creation and human agency through a biblical lens, the study identifies a significant discontinuity in value transmission. The results suggest that reclaiming the ancient concept of justice—rooted in Omenani—and synthesizing it with compatible theological frameworks is essential for restoring Igbo moral integrity and collective agency.

Keywords: Igbo Cosmology, Omenani (Traditional Laws/Customs), Justice Consciousness, Religio-cultural Institutions, Theological Ethics, Value Erosion, Socio-political Agency, Continuity and Discontinuity
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