Fundamental Code of Natural Laws in Ifá́ ́́ Divination as Agents of Morality for Good Governance in Nigeria

Abstract

Ifá is the natural wisdom and knowledge concerning all life activities divinely revealed to Ọ́ rúnmìlà by Olódùmarè, God in Yorùbá belief. It is the living foundation and custodian of the deity, moral, economic, language, religion, healing arts, tradition, culture and metaphysical orders. However, the concern of this paper is on the moral contents of the natural laws in Ifá corpus. Basically, there are two fundamental codes of natural laws in Ifá divination under which all other laws in Ifá exist. The first law enjoined every human being to acknowledge Olódùmarè as the Supreme Being and father of the universe who created all things. While the second law says “do unto others what you want them do unto you.” However, it is quite unfortunate that, today, these laws that linked human relationships with the Supreme Being and the dos and don’ts of the divinities and those that hold the society together in harmonious relationships are no longer in proper use. This is evident in the lack of fear for the Creator, mismanagement of public funds, embezzlement and political killings, to mention a few. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to examine the natural laws in Ifá and suggest how it can help sustain our fragile democracy as it did in the traditional society in the past for the sake of our future. The paper is premised on Matthew Flanagan’s theory of divine commands which asserts that what is moral is determined by what God commands, and to be moral is to follow his commands.

Keywords

• : natural laws
• ifá divination
• morality
• o ̣́rúnmìlà
• divine commands