In our last
edition, we highlighted some of the largely overlooked impacts of tradition
religion on society. Hiding under the guise of “culture”, followers of the
false gods that held our people hostage for centuries, seek to reposition these
task-masters over our societies – and most of us who understand what is going
on, for the sake of political correctness and new tolerance, merely nod our
head in assent and turn aside to “mind our own business”.
Like the homosexual advocacy groups,
traditional religionists are not satisfied being in the minority in society,
and they are using every argument conceivable to try to turn the balance.
However, unless knowledgeable Christians agree to be intimidated into silence,
the facts on ground should make everyone bent on worshipping the dead gods do
so in privacy, shame and sadness; not the current boisterous campaigns to
defend the indefensible. We cite two
main points to buttress this position.
The first ground of concern is the
nature of the sacrifices demanded by these gods. At the mildest, various food items – red oil,
boiled yam, head of goats, etc together with black pots are required to be put
at cross-roads constituting environmental nuisance in communities where there
are no stray dogs or vultures around to clear these eye-sores away. It would be
extremely rare to see one practictioner who would offer to be videoed carrying
these sacrifices, as it is not uncommon for the deity to require the suppliant
to come to the crossroad stark naked!
Far more
serious is the fact that many of the gods still demand regular human
sacrifices. This was brought home
vividly in the month of October 2013 with the discovery of a shrine at the
village of Mosarajo, between Ile-Ife and Ifewara in Osun state of Nigeria.
(Incidentally, the discovery occurred the day the Redeemed Christian Church of
God concluded a three-day crusade and prayers for the deliverance of Ifewara
and neighbourhood from the influences of the ancient deities stalling the
progress of the region).
Found in a
room in the kidnappers den were scores of children’s school uniforms and school
bags, ladies bras and underwears, etc (see
picture), while in other location, human blood were found not only poured
out to various idols representing various Yoruba gods, but also stored in
containers. On the day that the news
broke, a young girl abducted from Idi-Ape area in Ibadan, still dressed in
school uniform, was found dazed and wandering aimlessly at Lagere, Ile-Ife (on
the road to the village of Mosarajo) –
apparently abandoned due to the developments at the receiving end. Despite all these hard evidences, the man in
charge of the operations, Mr Aliyu Mutairu (aka Abu Ragbaja) was soon released on bail a few days after
his arrest and hurried shallow appearance at a magistrate court in Osogbo.
With no mention made of the containers of
human blood or the pile of clothing and personal effects found in his domicile,
Abu Ragbaja quickly agreed with the Police prosecutor, DSP Promise Akanwa, that
he was a mere fraudster swindling gullible, ambitious people.
Yet this claim
of being a cheap fraudster, even if correct, could not in any way invalidate
the copious hard evidences of extensive
human sacrifices on ground. All the
police had to do was look through those school bags to ascertain the identities
of the owners; but that probably skipped the mind of Mr Akanwa and his
team! So, Defence Counsel Wahab Idowu
triumphantly walked away with his client, with a bail of a paltry
N200,000. The case was adjourned till
3rd December, but the public knows better than continue to show interest in the
case! Abu Ragbaja who confessed to receiving
about
10 -15 clients every week, now has
enough time to eradicate all implicating evidences.
Victims Clothing and Personal Effects
http://naijasteward.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/clothes-of-victims.jpg
A similar
headline grabbing story
came a few weeks later (December) from Enugu-Ezike in Igboeze-North Local
Government Area of Enugu State of
Nigeria. Over 100 women tired of the
serial killing of their folks for ritual sacrifices, and not knowing whose turn
would be next, took their protests to the state governor, Mr Sullivan Chime.
Citing names of at least 11
women who had been sacrificed to the gods by the Chief Priests and his lackeys,
the women begged the governor to look into their case. Also citing more names and instances, the
women described how they are being forced into marriage with the deities.
Just as in Osun state,
according to the DailyPost ”efforts by
the police to prosecute some of the suspects had always been foiled by some
influential personalities in the area.”
Specifically, “A source disclosed that some of the suspects were
recently granted a controversial bail by the court, even though were standing
trial for murder.” (http://dailypost.com.ng/)
Yes, the
gods the traditional religionists are asking us to return to, reserve the
rights to demand that our blood or those of loved ones be regularly offered to
them. And they could conscript young women to be sex-slaves of their dedicated
priests. This is a general element of
this “religion wherever it be found”, whether it be right here on the continent
of Africa or in the diaspora like Haiti, Cuba or Brazil.
Compare all this with
the other option of embracing the God who shed his own blood for our ransom and
deliverance!
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