IDEME NWADA NA UNOR: A RIPOSTE TO THE MORALITY OF TRADITIONAL METHOD OF ADOPTION BY ANIOMA PEOPLE

Abstract

This paper examines and defends Ideme nwada na unor, a traditional form of adoption practised by the Anioma people of Delta State, Nigeria, against the claim by some Christian moralists that it is immoral, primitive and sinful. In this custom, a family that has no male child may, through a communal decision, allow its first daughter, known as Ada, to bear a male child in her father's compound. That child is then adopted as the legitimate son and heir of her father, not as a grandson. The study adopts a qualitative, conceptual and critical method. It uses philosophical analysis and draws on Joseph Fletcher's Situation Ethics (Fletcher, 1966), existential insights from Heidegger (Heidegger, 1962), and African communal philosophy as articulated by Mbiti (Mbiti, 1969) and Gyekye (Gyekye, 1996). Findings show that Anioma morality is communal and pragmatic, rooted in lineage continuity and welfare, and that moral judgement cannot be detached from existential context. The practice is not driven by promiscuity but by the need to resolve childlessness, loneliness and fear of lineage extinction in a patrilineal society (Amadiume, 1987; Uchendu, 1965). When viewed through situation ethics, the custom is morally justified because it produces the most loving and responsible outcome for the family and community. The paper concludes that any morality that ignores the concrete problems of a people becomes artificial to them. It recommends reorientation of moral education, legal recognition of customary adoption that is not repugnant to natural justice, inclusion of African traditional values in school curricula, and further empirical fieldwork in Anioma communities.