The Supreme Being in the Igbo Traditional Religion in the South Eastern Nigeria: A Critical Analysis

The Igbo are an ethnic group in the south eastern part of Nigeria. The Igbo people are said to be deeply religious. Before the advent of the Western missionaries in their midst, they were practicing their traditional religion. They had many gods in their pantheon. Some scholars, including Igbo scholars, however, believe that the Igbo people did not have the idea of God originally in their pantheon. This is to say that they did not have the idea of the Supreme Being before the arrival of the missionaries. In his own contribution to the debate J. O. Oguejiofor articulated an argument which casts doubt on the belief that the Igbo had the idea of the Supreme Being prior to their reception of the Christian message. This paper examines critically his argument. It points out the weaknesses of his argument. This paper maintains that the Igbo indeed had the idea of the Supreme Being before the missionaries arrived in their midst.