Our Religious Studies syllabuses should be thoroughly reviewed to address this get-rich-by-all-means syndrome. Religious teachers should also be well trained, retrained and well paid. Poverty and jobless are great incentives and great pull to fetishistic practices. Cerics with empty stomachs and tattered clothes are easily lured into it.
Nigerians are not safe anywhere on Nigeria’s territory. They are not also safe anywhere in the belly of Nigeria’s earth. On earth, they are not safe; in graves, their eyes must be wide open—though they are deceased—for the fear of disentombment after being honorably entombed. Our dead could not rest in peace any more due to the wickedness of the living. Many lived a miserable life only to be miserably dismembered inside their graves for want of lucre and for the sake of power by some disgruntled creatures. The rate at which the dead were exhumed before the recently concluded election was alarmingly disturbing. This is not to say politicians are the only users of human parts—dead or living. But there seems to a consensus that human parts are in their highest demands in periods of election in Nigeria.
Now elections are over, human parts, or rather, Nigerians’ parts, are still in high demand. Do the politicians who won still need these parts for inauguration? This strongly indicates that human parts are needed for different purposes and by different people. And I do not think any politician will need a pair of Fresh legs. That is too small for them. Devil makes much demands for greater tasks like winning election.
It is quite unfortunate that our dead are traded for peanuts. Could it even be appropriate to trade them for any price? They are priceless and should be accorded some respect. They are inviolable. They are sacrosanct. But because of inhumanity of humans to man, violation of the sanctity of our dead is now too frequent to ignore. Our dead are raped (especially women) right inside their graves. Their hair are shaved in the dead of the night. Their parts are dismembered by those who belong to the kingdom of devils. Thess wicked people have human look but are Luciferian. They are Lucifer in the flesh, in the blood, and by act.
Nigerians are humiliated while alive and in their graves. We are so valueless so much that, comparatively, cows, camels, and even pigs do have some appreciable economic value. An exhumer of the dead recently sold a pair of Fresh legs for N20, 000 to an herbalist in Ogun State. No exaggeration, no where in the present day Nigeria could four legs of cow (from thigh to foot) be sold at that price. That is to say, legs of a cow are far pricier and dearer than legs of a Nigerian. This heartless exhumer disentombed the two legs of a 26-year-old woman (another report says he killed her). He then advertised his “merchandise”—a pair of human legs—to a friend whose religion is Luciferianism. His friend—a herbalist—was not in need of the legs but the exhumer convinced him to buy them. In his words: “Though I told him I did not need them, he convinced me to use them for a ritual to better my life and I agreed.”
When the nefarious act was exposed, a lawyer instructed the herbalist to provide N10m to secure his bail. He was only able to gather N1m. Policemen arrested him when he went to deliver the money to the lawyer. Lessons learnt: no matter how heinous your crime is, there are lawyers out there for you. It isn’t that they will plead for justice to tempered with mercy; they will rather defend you, exploit some legal loopholes and absolve you from committing any crime when it is very glaring that a crime had been committed. Yet, some lawyers are in the mold of angels. If you have them as friends or family members, admire them and always pray for them. Though Nigerian policemen are generally described in words that are unprintable, some of them are noble, responsible, and godly. The N1m is enough to bribe the policemen and bury the case, but they arrested the herbalist despite his N1m. Kudos to the policemen. So, blanket condemnation of Nigerian police is condemnable.
A pair of legs to better one’s life? How can a pair of legs better my life or the life of any mortal? This is the reason why we are not developed and cannot develop. Our entire existence is hinged on fetishistic practices even as we claim to be Christians and Muslims. We are liars. We are a people prone to lying. We speak in the name of God but act devilish. Traders among us, artisans, civil servants and public servants, so-called clerics, politicians, marriage seekers and married couples, our intellectuals and the illiterate, believe more in the power of magic than in the Power of God.
Little wonder, that students believe they can write exams with magical pen in order to pass, not by deligence. Wives believe they can win their husbands’ heart by charm, not be being caring, loving, and responsible. Clerics struggle to win people to the religion of God by burying cows alive under the pulpits, not by preaching and teaching the true gospel nor by living an exemplary life. Men would rather use love charm to woo ladies, they believe toasting is a waste of time. Politicians believe that the number of a day-old-baby they are able to sacrifice would determine their success at the poll, not campaign nor evidence of good governance. Some even believe politicians who win election are those who are able to reach out to some of the deadliest and most powerful magicians or “clerics.”
We attribute failures to witches and wizards in our families and villages. We see poverty as a curse such that we must undergo some form of baptism to wash it off. Even our rulers in Aso Rock hold this belief dearly. They also attribute their failures to demonic possession or influence. The rat invasion of the President’s office sometime ago, if that was actually true, was easily explained to be one of the several attempts by opposition parties to charm the government in power and make our President sick. How can we progress with this kind of mindset.
Any way out of this quagmire? Yes. We need to truly love God. There should be a nationwide government-sponsored-campaign against fetish belief and fetishistic practices. The practice should be criminalized. Fortune tellers and general practitioners of magic, in the name of religion or otherwise, should be given some poisonous doses of the law if caught. Religious teachings should be intensified in our schools—both public and private.
Our Religious Studies syllabuses should be thoroughly reviewed to address this get-rich-by-all-means syndrome. Religious teachers should also be well trained, retrained and well paid. Poverty and jobless are great incentives and great pull to fetishistic practices. Cerics with empty stomachs and tattered clothes are easily lured into it.
Plus, we should wean ourselves off excessive materialism. Nigerians are becoming too materialistic to a catastrophic degree. Everybody wants to own mansions, exotic cars, and live in opulence. This is not wrong in itself. It is not wrong to have a great dream. What is wrong is to think that our dreams must be achieved by hook or by crook. Our Creator did not promise us that we shall all be flying in private jets. let’s be moderate in our search for material wellbeing.
The herbalist who wanted to better his life by a pair of a dead woman’s fresh legs ended up battering himself. If we were to judge him by his age (35 year old), we can make an intelligent guess that he has wife and children. Has he honored or disgraced his family by this wicked act? It is a pity! We pray to God to grant us contentment and protect us from Luciferian acts and from the influence of Lucifer. My heart goes to this dead victim and her family.
Abdulkadir Salaudeen
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