From What We Should Do to Who We Should Be: Negotiating Theological Reflections and Praxis in the Context of Hiv/Aids Among the Igbos of Nigeria

By Benedict Chidi Nwachukwu-Udaku

HIV/AIDS constitutes a global problem. A good number of scholars from different nationalities, multiple rationalities, religious sensibilities, theological intelligibilities and ethical, cultural, and ecclesiastical backgrounds have affirmed that this worldwide quagmire constitutes a global health problem and social malady which does not have a well-defined geographically limited spread. The global nature of HIV/AIDS as seen in the statistics does not however undermine the fact that the effects of this sickness are not felt proportionally from one nation to another. This book proposes to situate the local as a veritable site of empowerment for communities dealing with HIV/AIDS, as it is the case with the African continent.
The author of this book, over and above the way the problem of HIV/AIDS has been constructed, projected, and reviewed, decided to situate this epidemic of the 20th Century within the socio-cultural and political context of the Nigerian nation with particular reference to the Igbo people. The task of contextualizing this problem reveal the identity of the author as an Igbo, and as a theologian, who engages the indigenous ethical principles, unsophisticated traditional wisdom, cultural and religious values of his people in offering solutions that resonate the cultural identity of his people in dialogue with modern and post-modern constructs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 5, 2011
• ISBN: 9781463414122

Benedict Chidi Nwachukwu-Udaku

Benedict C. Nwachukwu-Udaku, a priest from Ahiara Diocese, Nigeria, received his PhD in Moral Theology from Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Madrid, Spain and MA Degree in Bioethics from the same University. At present, he teaches at the Ministry Formation Institute, San Bernardino Diocese California. He is also doing a Post-doctoral Masters Degree in the School of Arts and Humanities (SAH) at Claremont Graduate University, California, USA. Dr. Nwachukwu-Udaku was awarded a Honourable Distinction for his doctoral dissertation titled Sida en Africa: Reflexiones y Propuestas desde el pueblo Igbo. He has also published scholarly articles in International Theological Journals. His major areas of research are bioethics, social ethics, religion and public life, and intercultural/postmodernist discourse. In addition, Fr. Nwachukwu-Udaku engages a joyful and graceful pastoral ministry at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Rancho Cucamonga, Califonia. He is a member of the Committe for the Continuing Formation of Priests in the San Bernardino diocese, Califonia. He is also a regular presenter at El Sembrador Radio and Television (ESNE) Burbank California. He has preached Parish Mission in several parishes in the diocese of San Bernardino.

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© 2011 by Benedict Chidi Nwachukwu-Udaku. All rights reserved.

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First published by AuthorHouse 07/30/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4634-1493-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4634-1412-2 (ebk)

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CONTENTS

Dedication

Foreword

Introduction

A Projected Objective

Methodology

Division Of The Work

Acknowledgement

1    The Igbos, Their Worldview and Encounter with Modernity

2    HIV/AIDS: A Reality in Igboland

3    Nku di na mba na eghere ha nri and the Prevention of HIV/AIDS (Proposals from Igbo Cultural Values)

4    Nwanne di na Mba and the Prevention of HIV/AIDS (Integration of some Bioethical and Igbo Cultural resources in the Prevention of HIV/AIDS)

5    The Church as Ochie Dike and the Prevention of HIV/AIDS (An integration of an indigenous Igbo ecclesiological image in the Prevention of HIV/AIDS)

6    General Conclusions

BIBLIOGRAPHY

DEDICATION

To my mother Ezinne Angelina Nwachukwu-Udaku

To my Bishop Most Rev. Dr. Victor Chikwe

To our beloved Vanessa Lozano

In Memoriam

FOREWORD

With satisfaction and gratitude, I have accepted the responsibility of presenting Dr. Benedict Chidi Nwachukwu-Udaku’s book. I am encouraged both by the quality of the work as well as by the intellectual capacity of the author. For six years, I have had the gratifying experience something that is rare for a university professor of mentoring the intellectual growth of a student throughout the various academic stages, such has been my experience with Benedict. After my initial resistance of implicating myself with him in his study of African theology, I subsequently agreed to supervise his dissertation on the theology of liberation in his continent; then, came my supervision of his final Master’s degree thesis on bioethics, and finally, there came the time to supervise his doctoral dissertation. This work began in April, 2004 when he enrolled as a doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Theology at the Universidad Pontificia Comillas. He started with the generic title of I am because we are: A Study of African communitarian Ethics in the Context of Igbo Culture only to later take on a more concrete and interestingly rooted perspective by finding in the drama of HIV/AIDS his theme of choice. In October 2007, the thesis completed its academic journey as it was defended with the title of From What We Should Do To Who We Should Be: A Communitarian Ethical Discourse on HIV/AIDS in the Context of the Igbos of Nigeria.

That brilliant doctoral research, recognized with the highest possible grade, is the basis for this work which now makes its humble encounter with readers. I would like to glean from it some of the ideas that I hope will demonstrate why it is entirely fitting to congratulate the Bioethics Chair in the Pontificia Universidad Comillas for having the good judgment and courage to publish this book which is infused with unprecedented ingredients for the development of theological bioethics with ingenuous intercultural undertone.

We stand before a novel academic work of great interest which confronts a burning issue not yet addressed in other areas as from the perspective of the author. The style in which the author studied the theme at hand is situated within an epistemological framework proper to moral theology, open also to philosophy and the other sciences. We are dealing with a moral theology, which confronts the issues from a factual standpoint and without fear of questions which may arise from the present reality. In addition, this work is open to a multidisciplinary field.

The recourse to the African culture from the standpoint of the Igbos, to which the author belongs, lends to the project a well-considered contextual theology which, in my judgment, makes the study all the more interesting. Of course, this point can be seen from a eurocentristic standpoint as something clearly insufficient and negative for being too situated and imbibed within a particular culture.

In truth, it can be said that this study presupposes an important contribution to African theology, more especially in the area of morality to which the author is indebted both personally and vocationally. I think that the inherent danger of excessive personal involvement with the object of study has been neutralized by the author’s judicious capacity and by the distance afforded him by his six years of study in Spain. By way of example, I would like to highlight those pages explicitly dedicated to the role of women in the Igbo culture wherein a critical and notable capacity is demonstrated.

Given our modern day agitated context, I believe there are notable provisions in the work which are profitable for some of the more interesting debates in political philosophy such as those grounded in liberalism as well as communitarianism. After years of reading and writing on western liberalism and communitarianism, my humble experience has led me to learn more from the Igbo communitarian culture; here we appreciate the ongoing debate on the subject in the western world. We can also appreciate the efforts of the principal authors of communitarian philosophy, theology and other social sciences in dialogue with the communitarian spirit found in the Igbo culture. I find particularly useful those parts dedicated to the communal harnessing of the community wisdom in the prevention of HIV/AIDS as seen in chapter 3.

In like manner, I believe that this work also makes other noteworthy contributions with regards to the principles of bioethics (of special interest is the dialogue with respect to the principle of autonomy) or in the case of the difficult question of the use of condoms with regard to Catholic morals. On one hand, it is observed that the Magisterium of the Universal Church speaks more forcefully in an area where the local churches should have spoken more given that they are closer to the reality of the people’s lives. On the other hand, Dr. Nwachukwu-Udaku studied the opinions of three reputable theologians, a European, an American and an African, namely: Martin Rhonheimer, James F. Drane and Benezet Bujo. He accomplishes it within the style of the most notable Catholic tradition that is found in our prestigious university that celebrates its Centennial tradition of faithfulness in the service of the Church and society: by confronting difficult issues decisively, by using discretion and intellectual rigor, not seeking confrontation or protagonism and without losing that sense of Church which allows us to engage in intellectual reflection as Catholic theologians who collaborate in the best way possible so that our Mother Church will continue to bear fruits of love for the life of the world.

Of course, the point of equilibrium for a theological ethics of a communitarian nature which seeks to place itself in an autonomous theonomy is not easy but it is possible as is proven herein. There is an obvious distance with regards to a self-sufficient autonomy of a liberal individualistic nature that is obviously, albeit vehemently, criticized in these pages. But for communitarianism it is not as easy given the distinct heteronomies or servilism that underscores the traditions of the Igbo people. An autonomous theonomy must be capable of situating itself in the tradition of the Igbos in a most respectfully faithful manner, and in so doing, be open and creative, to avoid all forms of fixism which leads to a virtual heresy that encourages unexamined regression to the past. Thus, our author remained faithful to the living Tradition of the Church, and in this manner, is motivated with an experience, which continuously allows him to continue the task of intellectual reflection if we may borrow the words found in Blondel’s philosophy of action.

In the pages of this book, a moral theologian of excellent trade and enormous capacity; a man rooted in the tradition of his people; yearns to be in relation with people of other cultures, and he accomplishes it without complexes. It appears that as he places himself in the center of tradition, he is better able to venture into controversial and heated borders. He seeks the truth, even if it hurts, and he does not allow himself the luxury of remaining in the ignorance of his contemporaries or within the contemporary currents of thought because the truth that is sought, as he opens himself to human experience from the incarnate light of the Gospel, is for the good of people and societies. We could very well say, and not only because we speak of a dreadful disease, which kills thousands of Africans, but that our author’s project is for the health of people in general and for the salvation of souls; not in vain are both words derived from the same Latin root salus.

Whoever engages the following pages will savor a rich ethno-cultural background with a musical backdrop that sounds this good: I am because we are and I am because of what I am able to do with my liberty together with the community or communities to which I belong.

I hope that the author will continue on the road to fertile and prolific theological thought for the benefit of his African brothers and sisters starting with the Igbos but not remaining therein. This book will enrich our knowledge of African theology but, in reality, that is not its principal contribution since its most important fruits must be given in Nigeria, where it must render and complete itself with intellectual work that encourages ecclesial praxis. I encourage Dr. Nwachukwu-Udaku to continue to provoke thought as did the Ghanaian writer Appiah, K.A. in his latest book Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers to those of us who see the world from the self-complacent and civilized Northern World that is so ambivalently interdependent. But, above all, I encourage our author and friend to produce more intellectual fruits in his own Nigerian nation so as to certainly justify his many hours of study and indisputable effort in writing this timely intellectual work.

Prof. Dr. Julio Luis Martínez Martínez, SJ

Vice Rector for Academic Research, Development and Innovation

Professor of Moral Theology and Christian Praxis

Universidad Pontificia Comillas Madrid, Spain

INTRODUCTION

Today, Africa is considered a continent of backwardness, misery and death in the world community.¹ Many statistics trumpet this reality; although, some reports exaggerate. Daily news stories attest to this fact: if it is not famine and hunger in one country, it must be ethnic, civil or intra-country conflict in another. If it is not political bigotry in one country, it must be helpless refugees fleeing their burnt villages. If it is not a condemnation of women caught in adultery, it must be the ravage of one disease or the other like malaria, polio, Ebola, tuberculosis, and currently the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Another theme is the repatriation of some young men and women who managed to find their way into the promised land of Europe or America. These situations simply describe what apparently may be happening in Africa. They do not tell us what makes the Africans who they are. A better knowledge of a person, a nation, or a continent should begin with who a particular person or nation is before considering the evils that may be militating against them. When the woes, evils and limitations are placed before the blessings that define their very life, the tendency to discriminate against that nation or continent is higher than usual, that has been the case with Africa. My study will not only unveil some of the ugly situations that compete to define the African continent but also make present some plausible human and cultural resources that make the Africans who they are in our consmopolitan world.

HIV/AIDS is the central focus of this work and is a reality among the Igbos of Nigeria today. HIV/AIDS is fast becoming a household term. Everybody talks about it, but many are unaware of its devastating consequences. HIV/AIDS in Nigeria has attracted enormous attention: the Church and preachers of different religions moralize it. Politicians over-politicize it. Business people make enormous profit from it. It has also been translated into different languages. Songs and poems have been written on it.

Some may be wondering why another work should be written on HIV/AIDS, after about three decades of its existence. A friend of mine asked; why HIV/AIDS? Has HIV/AIDS reached an epidemic level among the Igbos of Nigeria so as to deserve such time consuming, cost demanding and intellectual brain-storming investigation?

I have to confess that I did not choose this subject; it chose me. As an African, born and bred among the Igbos of Nigeria, I have felt helpless at the death of close ones both in my village and in my pastoral ministry who died of HIV/AIDS. I have seen young men and women who would have been the hope of their families and communities die instead in the prime of their youth. I remember one occasion in particular. After praying for a dying AIDS patient from my kindred, he looked up and soberly asked: "Father Chidi² why must this sickness take my life?" The personal memory/experience as a result of that encounter is fast becoming a collective memory not only of the Igbos, but of the global world community.

As an Igbo, I feel challenged by the devastating effects of this disease in the life of my people and nation. I personally have asked questions such as: what should be done to remedy this situation? Why must my people continue to die of a disease that has been converted into merely a chronic one in the developed countries? These questions have accompanied me in prayers, studies, and relationships. They have also informed my daily observation and admiration of the developments in medicine and technology in the Western world today. In a way, these questions constitute a substantial part of my personal narrative, which is embedded in the narrative of my people.

As a priest, I feel more challenged in the midst of this quagmire. Like the prophet Jeremiah of the Old Testament, I have inquired assiduously, Is there no balm in Gilead (among the Igbos)? Is there no physician here among the Igbos? Why is there no healing for the wound of my people?

As a theologian, I feel most challenged. My study of theology has helped me to understand that theology and praxis cannot be separated from the reality that defines people’s life and context. The fact that the people of God in Igboland live with HIV/AIDS and are concerned for their fate should constitute a locus for theological reflection. How could I tell my people about the mercifulness of God in the midst of a devastating disease that claims the life of the young people on repeated basis? My investigation will reveal that a crisis situation for a Christian is most often celebrated as a kairos; which involves a kind of movement from a mysterium iniquitatis to a mysterium salutis.

The choice of Igbos’ cultural values as instrumentum laboris in this investigation is informed by their capacity to construct a bridge between who the Igbos are as well as the reality that defines their social context. Constructing a bridge from Igbo cultural values to the reality that informs the life of the people will be realized not only through rational enterprise, but mostly, through narrative ethical framework. This ethical framework is consistent with other ethics that take their bearing from the identity of a particular people. This inquiry and knowledge of the Igbos will be carried out not only ad intra (within their context), but also ad extra (relationship with others).

This present work therefore, takes its locus from where the Igbos themselves are and not from where the whole world is. My intention is to respond to the deepest wishes of Pope John Paul II, who during his Papal visit to Malawi in 1989, called upon all African people to seek within themselves the solutions to many of the problems that define their social context. The late Holy Father requested that African people utilize the riches found in their culture and tradition in order to address their problems. Like St. Augustine, who believed that the answer to many problems lies within the human person himself, John Paul II believed that the solution to Africa’s multiple problems lies within her cultural context.³

This call to go back to one’s roots in order to face the exigencies of life is in line with the Igbo people’s idea of progress. Igbos believe, agbala azu apata ukwa (it is only when one looks back to where one comes from or to who one is that he/she will have an answer to some of his/her problems). Such an idea of progress is built on the principle of autonomy and subsidiarity which recognizes that any solution offered to people should consider who they are along with what they could do for themselves. This work is motivated by the singular objective of going back to the root of the Igbo culture, worldview and ethics which requires steady and unrelenting effort on the part of the Igbos, in order to transform their natural resources into possibilities of development and address their present problem.

II. A PROJECTED OBJECTIVE

This invitation to go back to the root of the Igbo culture, worldview and ethics makes it imperative for an introduction of a new methodology that will suit the Igbo people’s way of life. The basic questions that the Igbos ask when one commits an offence is ebe ka osi? (where does he/she come from?) o bu onye mere ihe nke a? (who has committed this felony?) and when the individual becomes unruly he/she is asked I bu kwa onye Igbo? (are you truly an Igbo?). Furthermore, when there is a natural disaster or a problem that affects the community, the Igbos ask, gini butere aru nkea? (what is the cause of this evil?). These questions which underline the Igbo people’s ethical behaviour and praxis are founded not only in their communal narrative but also in some songs and proverbs that accompany them in their daily life. In the face of an ethical problem, the Igbos begin by utilizing the interrogative words: ‘who’ (who has done this), ‘why’ (why has this been done) and finally, ‘what’ (what should be done).

But today, in the face of HIV/AIDS, people are preoccupied with what should be done, what are the solutions to this problem, how can we prevent and abate its future spread? These questions find great salience in the ethical proposal of Immanuel Kant in his ‘Standard account of moral rationality’⁴ which upholds universally accepted rational principles and rules in offering solution to problems. Going back to Igbo ethical root, I wish to propose an ethical paradigm that introduces a paradigmatic shift from the global question of what should we do to a local and contextual question of who should we be. A kind of shift from a modus operandi (what shall we do) to a modus viviendi (who should we be).

This shift in methodology from deontological ethical paradigm to teleological ethical narrative implies that HIV/AIDS should not only be seen as a problem to be solved but as an opportunity of awareness which will lead to better and enduring solutions. It is on this note that the problems associated with HIV/AIDS should not be seen as mere global quagmire but as that which has great impact on the Igbos of Nigeria because of their particular situation, their social location and unique narrative as people who are being steadily influenced by the socio-economic and political situation of the Nigerian nation. Therefore, my reflection falls within the framework of narrative ethics; an ethics that is done from bottom-up inductive model and not top-down deductive model.

This shift in methodology is considered seminal and adequate in this reflection because HIV/AIDS is not an abstract question that requires ahistorical and discontextualized solutions. It is a problem that calls for concrete and particular attention with respect to the Igbos because its effects on people and contexts in the global world are not uniform.

The journey towards realizing these set goals would remain arduous and apparently intractable if I fail to employ some enabling hypotheses that will not only serve as guide but also as basis for some of the new ethical and theological proposals that will constitute intrinsic and relevant aspects of my reflection. Therefore, I will identify some context-oriented hypotheses which will serve as vademecum (necessary companion) in this investigation.

The first hypothesis is the assumption that a discussion on HIV/AIDS from a given context like that of the Igbos of Nigeria will facilitate a better understanding of the Igbos by uncovering what makes the Igbos who they are and why they should constitute a locus for ethical-theological reflection in this age of HIV/AIDS.

The second hypothesis holds that in social issues like the one I am discussing, there is always the need to articulate and reaffirm the relationship between the local and the global, the private and the public, the particular and the universal, the one and the many, the individual and the community. The relationships between these different families of thought and praxis are better enunciated, projected and synthesized within an ethical framework that unifies and embellishes one idea with another rather than an ethics that is constructed on the pedestal of preferences regulated by the principle of dichotomy. Attempts will be made to establish some grounds for the realization of such relational ethics.

The third hypothesis is a supposition that my projected relational ethics which will constitute our instrumentum laboris is indigenous both in its origin, orientations and perspectives. Such ethics should be a fruit of the worldview of the Igbos in order to suit their way of life. The ethics in question is expected to speak the language of the Igbos so as to facilitate easy understanding of its basic concepts, ideas and demands. The use of proverbs, metaphors, idioms, etc will find a home in such local ethics that is constructed from, with and for the good of the Igbo people in their relationship with those who share similar values with them and those who do not.

The fourth premise will unveil the possibility of utilizing the human and cultural resources that define the Igbo people’s way of life under the umbrella of their ethical system with the intention of offering adequate solutions that do not contradict their basic identity. Additionally, this fourth hypothesis will also disclose how the communal manner of identifying problems could lead to communal way of addressing such problems.

The fifth hypothesis will be cushioned in such a way as to reveal the daring efforts being made by the Igbos to avail themselves of the opportunity available in other ethical systems or institutions in order to address the multifaceted problems being posed by HIV/AIDS. The local resources which I will be considering as nku di na mba na-eghere mba nri (the form of firewood native to a people is sufficient to cook the people’s food) are said to be open to resources that comes from other people which I will be referring to as nwanne di na mba (there is a brother in a foreign land). Although, the two complementary resources are important, I will demonstrate with relevant arguments that what comes from within is always placed in a higher context than what comes from without (outside).

The final hypothesis will be articulated in such a way as to answer the following questions: what is the goal of this study? Will my investigation help to make the Igbos better Christians irrespective of the problems that define their social context in this time of HIV/AIDS? Could my study help to synthesize some important Igbo cultural resources with the universal Christian moral values so that an Igbo-Christian Moral Theology which will be at the service of the people in this age of HIV/AIDS could be formulated and promoted? How could my research help the Igbos to transform the crisis situation that is associated with the epidemic of HIV/AIDS into a hopeful moment of karios?

METHODOLOGY

With respect to the nature, objective and goal of this work, I will utilize two methodologies namely: cultural exegesis and social analysis. Cultural exegesis is concerned with the question of who a particular people should be, and social analysis is concerned with what should be done. Cultural exegesis will help us in our analysis of the human and cultural values of the Igbos so as to unveil who they are. Social analytic method will aid in our analysis of the socio-economic and political situation that are not only contributing to the spread of HIV/AIDS, but also are impoverishing the Igbos thereby making them more vulnerable to social deficiencies such as poverty, unemployment, child labor, and corruption.

Cultural exegesis is an interpretative activity that makes explicit what is implicit in culture. Among a given people, this method unfolds not only the meaning of their culture, but also what underscores who they are. This methodology is perspectival, i.e. done from a particular standpoint and context of the Igbos. It sees a connection with what is going on in the lives of the Igbo people, their issues, problems, and hopes. Cultural exegesis is regarded as a hermeneutic of appreciation because it highlights the positive elements in a culture.⁵ From a faith perspective, this method acknowledges divine presence that graces the life and narrative of a people. The theological task is to discern the spiritual and material qualities and gifts of every people and every age. It is a methodology that puts into perspective the question of who a particular people are while providing avenues that could aid in solving problems that seems to define their lives.

This methodology is related to social analysis, which focuses on the structures of economics and politics that were seen at the base of social problems and deficiencies. José de Mesa distinguishes cultural exegesis from social analysis: the former is a systematic process of bringing into explicit awareness and orderly categorization (thematization) the implicit cultural meaning of cultural aspects within the framework of culture as an integrated system while social analysis tackles the more historical and institutional/structural aspects of the same culture.⁶

These two complementary methodologies will accompany us throughout this work. They are relevant because they constitute a holistic approach. Any attempt towards a credible solution to the HIV/AIDS situation in Igboland which does not consider the two basic aspects of being in Igboland namely: the influence from the culture and the impact from the Igbo social context, will only contribute to the marginalization of the Igbos. These two methodologies will help to address the two most important questions that inform this work: 1) who should the Igbos become and 2) what should they do with respect to the problem of HIV/AIDS. These methodologies are therefore related to the synthetic methodology proposed by Stephen B. Bevans in his study of six basic models of contextual theology.⁷ The synthetic methodology or model seeks to preserve the values of a given culture in dialogue with the Christian faith.

The two selected methodologies will further be expressed in descriptive, expository and comparative forms. They will describe the Igbo community and the situation of things in the traditional society and their relationship with modernity and post-modernity. The expository and comparative expressions of the methodologies will be utilized in an effort to compare the way HIV/AIDS is handled in developed countries compared to how it is being handled within a cultural context of the Igbo people. Further analysis will involve how the local sense of faith (sensus fidei) of the Igbos is related to the teaching of the ecclesiastical magisterium. The theological perspective will constitute a point of mediation to all forms of comparison that will be indicated in this work.

IV. DIVISION OF THE WORK

This work is systematically divided into five chapters, with three major divisions in mind: 1) the Igbos and the problem of HIV/AIDS, 2) the value of Igbo culture with respect to the problems occasioned by the epidemic of HIV/AIDS and 3) a possible bioethical and theological response. In the first chapter, I will expose who the Igbos are, where they are located in the world geography and what makes them who they are as encapsulated in their worldview. The essence of this chapter is to demonstrate that who one is, where one comes from, and the belief system that guides a person or a particular people, are important resources in knowing who they are and what constitututes their moral vision.

The second chapter will be expository essentially. Efforts will be made to unfold the real situation of HIV/AIDS among the Igbos. The causes of the spread and the obvious effects it has in the life of the Igbos will also be underscored. The statistical information that accompanies this chapter is solid proof that HIV/AIDS constitutes a major problem for people who are less prepared either by fortune or design to abate its scourge.

The third chapter will introduce a question that will accompany us throughout the rest of the chapters. This important question is: what should the Igbos do or who should the Igbos become in the light of the present situation? In this chapter, local resources embedded in the worldview of the Igbos will be studied critically and offered as preventive methods already available from the people’s context. An outline of these resources will help us to understand who the Igbos should become.

In the fourth chapter, with the principle of nwanne di na mba, I will unveil how the Igbos could complement their local efforts with resources that are global in scale especially drawing from bioethics. First, I will argue that bioethics is a science which finds a home in almost all cultures because it constructs a bridge between human values and scientific developments. In the second instance, this chapter further details the possiblity of articulating an Igbo bioethics that takes its bearing from Igbo worldview which is holistic, inclusive, humanistic, and religious.

The fifth chapter will disclose how the functionality of a local culture and values could fertlize the ground for an indigenous ecclesiological image which will also suit the local churches that are found in Igboland. I will denote and ackowledge with relevant statistics, the undeniable role the Church has played both in its local and universal dimensions with respect to the problem of HIV/AIDS. The principal argument in this chapter is that the role of the Church will be more effective if the local situation of the people are taken into account in the effort to propose methods of prevention and cure. Attention to local situation is better achieved by a local Church, which by its nature and definition, is always in communion with the universal Church.

Most of the arguments in this chapter will be fashioned in a dialogue form, whereby the proposals of Igbo cultural values will be placed as dialogue partners with Catholic Moral teachings. The fruits of this dialogue will enable us to suggest some guidelines for a construction of an inculturated Moral Theology. This theology will not only be at the service of the Igbo Christians in this age of HIV/AIDS, but also respond to the timely aspiration of the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council. Their thoughts were made manifest in these words: Special care should be given to the perfecting of moral theology. Its scientific presentation should draw more fully on the teaching of Holy Scripture and should throw light upon the exalted vocation of the faithful in Christ and their obligation to bring forth fruit in charity for the life of the world (OT, 16).

I will conclude by outlining some important contributions of my reflection and scholarship to humanity, particularly with reference to theology, bioethics, and intercultural/postmodernist discourse.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The task of writing this book has inevitably demonstrated that the capacity to convert one’s resources into possibilities requires and engenders community. I am sincerely grateful to all whose life, labour, sacrifice, and love have constantly accompanied me during this intellectual journey and narrative. In the first instance, I owe a lot of thanks to God whose love and mercy has not been in short supply in my life especially during the thin and thick moments of the gestation of this work. I sincerely acknowledge the fatherly support and care of my late local ordinary Most Rev. Dr. V. A. Chikwe for giving me the opportunity for further studies in Spain; may his gentle soul rest in peace, Amen. To the Bishop of the diocese of San Bernardino Most Rev. Gerald R. Barnes and his auxiliary Most Rev. Rutillo del Riego I am particularly grateful for offering me the opportunity to serve in a wider space the diocese of San Bernardino by translating her mission of filling the lives of many with hope into a concrete reality. To the Diocesan Administrator of my diocese Msgr. T. Nwalor and the Vicar General of San Bernardino diocese Msgr. G. Lopez, thanks for your fraternal love and care.

I am indebted to Prof. Dr. Julio Luis Martínez Martinez SJ, for all his assistance all through my studies which admirably has reached its apogee in the excellent direction of this work. I immensely thank Prof. Dr. Francisco Javier de la Torre the incumbent director of the Department of Bioethics, Universidad Pontificia Comillas Madrid who not only took a special interest in my work and devoted much of his time in dialogue with me but also gave me the opportunity to collaborate with the Department of Bioethics during the culminating years of my investigation.

I am grateful to Prof. Dr. Bénézet Bujo of the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) whose dialogue with me helped to shape the general focus of this research. I thank the former director of African Jesuit AIDS Network Fr. Michael F. Czerny SJ, for providing me with books, articles, and statistics on AIDS in Africa. To Dr. James F. Keenan, Dr. Shaji George Kochuthara, Dr. Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator and all the scholars who participated in the conference on Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church (CTEWC) in Padua (2006) and Trent (2010) muchas gracias for insisting on context, social location, and diversity in the present day theological scholarship.

I am also indebted to Rev. Dr. Joseph Ekweariri and Rev. Dr. Jude Uwalaka for the enlightenment offered and the constructive criticisms provided at the nursery stage of this work. To Dr. Chima Nwachukwu-Udaku and Ms Nwamaka Gloria Akabogu, thanks so much for helping to proofread the whole text. I sincerely thank Juan Rojas & Nieves Garcia, Tim & Marisol Wyant, Ugoeze J. A. Nwachukwu-Udaku, Maria Luisa Galainena Soler, Rifky & Lydia Hanna, Anne Magadoro, Valentine Martelly, Miriam Padilla, Peter Damian Ezeoke and the Nguyen family for their assistance in the publication of this work and in my priestly ministry.

I am indebted also to my friends Dr. & Mrs. Obioma Iwuagwu and Engr. Chijioke Unegbu who provided me with all the statistical materials from Nigeria. Their love and interest in my welfare has further proved that one’s narrative and success may be grossly deficient without the other. I have been richly favored in the company of my friends and colleagues, Frs’ Sylvester Ajunwa, Emma Ukaegbu, Sixtus Njoku, Cletus Imoh, Innocent Emechete, Cajetan Ukachi, Pius Adiele, Stanley Onwuegbule, Augustine Obasi, Stephen Ehiahuruike, Charles Ufomadu, Dominic Ekweariri. I also thank Frs’ Kizito T. Nwachukwu-Udaku, Peter Ben Opara, Eliseus Ibeh, and Emma Nwaoru for their brotherly care and support. and to my friends at Sacred Heart Catholic Church Rancho Cucamonga and the Igbo/Nigerian community in the Inland Empire of Southern California you’ve really demonstrated that true friendship could be expressed as Nwanne di n’mba.

Finally, I thank my parents, Mr Edmund Onyeulo & Late Ezinne Angelina Nwaelekwuizu Nwachukwu-Udaku whose lives have constituted the story that has informed my life. To my siblings and their families, I say a warm thank you for keeping me in their prayers. Their steadfastness has proved the old saying that out of sight is not out of mind. To the rest of you whom I cannot mention your names for want of space, I sincerely thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you (Phil 1: 3-4).

Benedict Chidi Nwachukwu-Udaku

Divine Mercy Sunday 1st of May, 2011

Beatification of Pope John Paul II

1

The Igbos, Their Worldview and Encounter with Modernity

I. INTRODUCTION

There are three important questions that will guide our reflection in this initial chapter: 1) who are the Igbos, 2) where are they located in the global geography and 3) what makes them to be who they are? Background information about the Igbos, such as their statistics, geographical location, socio-cultural structure, and their economic and political situation in the present Nigerian society will aid in answering these questions. Attention will also be dedicated to unveiling their general worldview, which has to do with their belief system, habits, laws, customs, their conception of the universe and their attitude to life, etc. Finally, I will underscore the impact which Christianity and modern civilisation have had on Igbo culture. The presupposed background information will be grossly deficient if nothing is said about the repercussions of the Christian religion and modern civilization on the Igbo people’s life, their history and their general well-being.

This background information about the Igbos will be utilized later as important resources that will be transformed into possibilities of life and development in this age of HIV/AIDS.

II. WHO ARE THE IGBOS?

The question of who one is or who a particular people are is of utmost importance in any effective discussion that is oriented towards a better understanding of the person or group in question so as to project their interests in the best possible way and to identify them as moral agents. This anthropological question is common among scholars in the communitarian tradition. For example, Alasdair MacIntyre in one of his major works⁸ was faced with the problem of understanding the identity of the modern and contemporary man, which he described as disquieting. Stanley Hauerwas, in the bid to figure out what could be the proper identity of Christians, maintained that Christians ought to be a community of character.⁹ In the same way, the authors of the Habits of the Heart observed that American society is a community of memory.¹⁰ In search of the true meaning of community in today’s modern world, Daniel Bell studied the theme of Communitarianism in his work titled, Communitarianism and Its Critics. In a recent work, Samuel P. Huntington observed that, almost everywhere people have questioned, reconsidered, and redefined what they have in common and what distinguishes them from other people: Who are we? Where do we belong?¹¹ A knowledge of who a people are helps to make them accessible to relationships both at local and global levels. The English saying, if you want to teach Latin to John, it is not enough to know Latin but also to know who John is, is quite instructive in this regard.

Likewise, the question of who the Igbos are in order to teach them Latin has received inspiring attention in the writings of some Igbo scholars¹² and foreign commentators and anthropologists.¹³ In a review of two literary works that give account of who the Igbos are, I will outline the qualities of their principal characters, since the Igbos believe that you could know a place by making reference to the quality of the individuals that are found in it and vice versa. More so, for the Igbos, an individual is referred to as Ugwumba (pride of the community).

1.    Literature Review: in Search of who the Igbos are

The first literary work of our interest is Things Fall Apart,¹⁴ written by Chinua Achebe, one of the most distinguished African authors. Things Fall Apart is Achebe’s first novel and is recognized as a literary classic which is taught and read across the English-speaking world. The novel has been translated into at least forty-five languages. A year after publication, the book won a major literary award, the Margaret Wong Memorial Prize.¹⁵ My interest in this work is that it is focused on the Igbo culture and its contact with Christianity and modernity. Additionally, it projected some characters that represent the ideal Igbo person. This latter reason will punctuate my reflection in this section.

The principal character and protagonist of Achebe’s epoch-making literature is Okonkwo whose personality, beliefs, bias, and way of life aptly reveal an authentic and representative Igbo person. As a hero in Umuofia, Okonkwo demonstrated a determined and inflexible personality which earned him a lot of power and prestige. Okonkwo vigorously preserved his manly characteristics to the extent that his tragic fall was rooted in his fear of weakness and failure.

Achebe described Okonkwo as tall and huge with bushy eyebrows and a wide nose that gave him a very severe look. Okonkwo was renowned as an indomitable wrestler, a credible warrior and a successful farmer of yams. He had three wives and many children.

Throughout the novel, Achebe presented him as a man who had his feet on the ground. Okonkwo was a self-made and hard-working man whose life and activities could be summarized in the following proverb: Those whose palm-kernels were cracked for them by a benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble. This proverb means that one whose success is a result of luck must not forget that there are people who are not as lucky as himself/herself. Okonkwo, however, cracked his own palm-kernels by himself because he overcame poverty not through luck, but through hard work and determination. This spirit of determination made him overtly hate people who were weak and unfocused like his father, Unoka.

Consequently, Okonkwo shunned all forms of paternalism. This non-paternalistic character of Okonkwo was demonstrated vividly by his refusal to beg his bosom friend Obierika to rebuild his barns and two huts, rather he decided to send him money from his place of exile. He also refused to demonstrate paternalism in the upbringing of Ikemefuna, the slave boy. He rather allowed him to develop a self-determined style of life. It was in this account that Ikemefuna had great influence on Nwoye, the first son of Okonkwo.

Okonkwo represents, to a laudable extent, an ideal Igbo man. These ideals which are encapsulated in Okonkwo’s personality are punctuated with the good, the bad, and the ugly. However, I will be concerned more with the positive qualities of Okonkwo, at the same time indicating why he is considered as a tragic hero in Things Fall Apart. In Okonkwo, we could visualize and admire the following characteritics and virtues of the Igbo man: the Igbo person is Di-ike (the master of strength, and theferore the strong and able one); Di-mkpa (the master of emergency, the one who is never embarasssed by the un-expected); Di-mgba (the master wrestler, the one on whose shoulders rests the responsibility for the honour of his village during wars or inter-village competitions); and Eze-ji (the one who has yams in abundance). In Okonkwo, the Igbo person is also considered Ekwueme (one who keeps to his words). These qualities and virtues will be highlighted when I discuss the theme of virtues and their application with respect to HIV/AIDS in chapter three.

Okonkwo’s rejection and dislike of people who are weak emphasizes the Igbo tendecy of preferring excellence, hard-work, in disrespect and discredit to one who is, in the words of Achebe, an Efulefu (worthless person). The fact that Okonkwo was unable to take care of the sickness of his daughter showed that he also experienced difficulty. Moreso, Okonkwo was later exiled from his village because he committed a homicide; the consequences of which remained with him untill his tragic death.

Another novel of interest in our search for who the Igbos are is a work written by Pita Nwanna, titled Omenuko. The story of Omenuko is purely an Igbo narration about a young man Omenuko who needed to leave his homeland in search of greener pasture. It starts by saying, "n’akuku obodo anyi n’ime Africa" (in a part of our town in Africa).¹⁶ This novel and its principal character Omenuko provide an idea of how life is lived among the Igbos/Africans in the midst of adversity and want. My principal interest in choosing this novel is to demonstrate the adventurous spirit of the Igbos, their ability to maintain their identity and narrative wherever they find themselves and their willingness to survive irrespective of the apparent historia calamitatem which has punctuated their life and existence.

In Omenuko, I see that the Igbos maintain relationships with their cultural and family roots despite their frequent change of location or their out-going nature and deep-rooted spirit of adventure. An Igbo person is always in relationship with all of his family, his community and always has two nations (the resident nation and the home nation). If an Igbo man lives outside his community, that place, no matter how beautiful and welcoming it could be is always considered to be a temporary home, while his true home is among his people, the Igbos of Nigeria.

The Igbo person cannot forget his roots, as we have indicated above. These are the words of Pita Nwanna on this point:

In our own part of Africa, it is almost like an obligation that a man does not forsake his fatherland. A man can live in a foreign land but no matter how he is accepted or how successful he becomes in business or social relationships, and no matter how much the people among whom he lives hold him in high regard, there are bound to be attitudes or things which will remind him once in a while that he is a stranger and he ought to become more determined to return to his native land.¹⁷

In the story of Omenuko, one could deduce that the Igbos are characterized by their indisputable attachment to their land of origin from which they derive their identity and sense of purpose. They are noted for hard work and enterprising spirit. Other common distinguishing traits of the Igbos include assiduousness, resourcefulness, the power of imagination, being outgoing and the