Re-Assessing the Relevance and Efficacy of Yoruba Gods as Agents of Punishment: A Study of Sango and Ogun

Abstract

The general objective of this paper was to investigate the relevance and efficiency of Yoruba gods in the administration of punishment and justices on crime commitment. Two Yoruba gods (Sango and Ogun) were principally chosen. Six hundred (600) participants were conveniently sampled from three localities from three geo-political states in the western part of Nigeria. Univariate and bivariate analyses were used in the description of the samples and frequency distribution tables were employed in the presentation of the data. The results show that Yoruba natives still fear and respect these gods. The gods are still relevant and efficient in the administration of punishment on crime commission. The Yoruba natives show preference for the non-conventional punishments of these gods to modern criminal justice systems. Finally, the paper recommends the opinion survey polls on the inclusion of the invocations of these gods in the criminal justice systems of Nigeria and the likely implementations of the invocations in official swearing in ceremony for political and public office holders and the administration of the invocations in Nigerian courts of law.

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“…The article, therefore, argues that a return to the African traditional judicial system will help reduce criminal activities in the community. Okunola & Ojo (2012) aver that the Yoruba mostly avoided p-ISSN: 2252-6323 e-ISSN: 2721-4540 94 criminal acts before Western culture because of the fear of being destroyed by the gods. Such fear deterred most of them from engaging in illegal acts.…”

“…As such, people turn to persistent offenders as a form of escapism from instant judgment and punishment from African gods. Okunola and Ojo (2012) opine that 'punishment is an innovation with which society wards off the siege of the criminal, and the perceived seriousness of the offence being dependent upon the goals of those in charge, who are the people who represent their society. The most serious of crimes are sometimes punished with death, although what is considered to be a serious offence is subject to the views of the society in which it occurs' (p. 1057).…”

“…Punishment brings knowledge, and it is also an act of healing wickedness (Dressler, 2015, p. 859). Okunola and Ojo (2012) aver that there are two forms of punishment, formal and informal, that can be applied to correct crime in society (p. 1058). On the one hand, following the modernized institutionalized agencies such as the law court and other criminal justice systems to assign punishment, the first form is formal.…”

“…They are formed from the existing Odua people's congress. Hunters and warriors in Yorubaland are characterised as Ogun's symbols among the people (Okunola andOjo, 2012, p. 1063).…”