JOURNALS

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the idea of eco-humanism in Igbo metaphysics of environment as articulated in the Igbo wise saying Uwa bu Ogbu (reality is whole), and how Uwa bu Ogbu imbued the traditional Igbo worldview with the ecology of care and reverence to nature. Uwa-bu-Ogbu underscores the interconnectedness between man and his environment based on their mutual dependence. It expresses realities in a holistic sense understood as a community of mutually reinforcing natural life forces consisting of humans, spirits, plants, animals, and all the inanimate constituents of the geophysical space, in which, unity is preserved through the mutual interactions amongst these ecological entities. This paper aims to highlight this yet-to-be-fully explored ecological sense in Igbo metaphysics of the environment so as to leverage it to provide fresh insight into the debates on environmental ethics in contemporary Africa. The rationale for this approach adopted in this paper stems from the fact that the metaphysics of a people is at the foundation of their ecological mindset and formation. Hence, the following questions suffice: On what theoretical framework is contemporary African environmental discourses and policies built? What alternative framework could there be in environmental ethics to the dominant Western anthropocentric model, and what prospects are there in developing indigenous-based environmental ethics that takes into account the distinct African environ-mentality based on African ontology and cosmogony? And what could be the possible blend between Western-oriented anthropocentrism and African-oriented eco-humanism?