06/03/2022
Ritualism
My Concern as a Nigerian citizen.
As a student,
As a voice to the voiceless.
Ritualism has to stop 🛑 🛑 🛑
Money ritual using human body is a fraud, a scam, It is an inhuman act, It will never work, how long do we have to believe this nonsense? Why are innocent people been killed for money ritual?
It is saddening that this has become a normal thing in our society. The “mistaken belief” in the efficacy of ritual killings for cash is not the demographic preserve of young people in the country. As matter of fact, part of what makes the belief sociologically intriguing is its cross-generational dispersal and resilience. Most Nigerians do indeed find the idea of ritual killings—whether for money specifically or power in general—genuinely reprehensible and abhorrent; yet, irrespective of their level of education, a large number continue to believe that it works. Members of the political elite regularly visit shrines to swear oaths, ask for a deity’s blessing, or seek “spiritual defense” against political enemies.
The belief that certain body parts are ritualistically convertible to wealth (also seen with albinos and bald men in other parts of Africa) is of a piece with the conviction that certain nefarious agents can impede one’s path to wealth. In some parts of southeastern Nigeria, children branded as witches by their parents have been known to be either tortured or killed.
Ultimately, increased incidence of ritual killings in Nigeria is best seen in the context of the broader economy of violence in the country, the most salient elements of which are banditry and kidnapping, police incapacity to tackle crime, a rise in vigilantism, circulation of illegal arms, and a succession of unsolved murders—all framed against the backdrop of weakening state control.
These dastardly acts are carried out in a 21st century, when other countries of the world are experimenting and advancing in technology.
Economic recession in the land is not a license to commit ritual murder. Impunity encourages ritualists to commit murders because they believe they will not be apprehended or punished.
Government, Religious leaders, Politicians and many people should be investigated, Nigerians should stop late night outings, commuters should always write down the identification markings of public conveyance vehicles which they enter and make phone calls to loved ones to pass on the information.
KNOWLEDGE IS WEALTH, BE WISE.
OLUWAFOLAKEMI OLAJUMOKE ADEDIGBA
