A HERMENEUTICS OF AGE GRADE IN IGBO LAND AS A HARBINGER OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.

One of the most invaluable instruments of social control among the Igbo is the age grade, more commonly referred to as “Otu Ogbo”-people of the same age bracket. Apart from being an active agent of social control given the republican and acephalous nature of the Igbo, it is also an indispensable agent for community development. Over the years, age grades in different communities have distinguished themselves in the performance of such roles that aim at enhancing the socioeconomic life of the people. It has remained a social institution that contributes immensely towards coherent development activities from time immemorial, and thus, the institution of age grade cannot be neglected in issues bothering rural community development in any society. As such, the age grade has remained a means of unity and solidarity; it is the strongest agent of inspiring communal spirit and solidarity of members (Ibeh & Ndubuisi, 2022). It is this antecedent that frames the research question of this paper: What is the age grade system among the Igbo? How does the age grade serve as a harbinger of community development? To give a discourse that is exhaustive, the paper adopts critical expository, interpretative, and descriptive methodologies. It relies extensively on secondary sources.