African traditional values system: An alternative interpretation of ijov-cult for eradication of corruption and insecurity in Tiv, Nigeria

Abstract

In order to survive and for human beings to be effective, sociologists and anthropologists believe that humans must learn the skills, acquire knowledge and adapt to ways of behaving in the society into which they are born. It is the intention of this article to examine the issues raised in an article by Paul Bohannan (1960:328-341) with particular reference to ‘ijov-cult’ in the light of recent corruption and insecurity developments in Nigeria, and to provide an alternative interpretation to aid the government efforts toward eradication of the endemic corruption and insecurity in the country. We also highlight the new values in the Tiv religion of Ijov. The article recommended the  establishment of community police structure consistently with the people’s value system.