By Hope Eghagha
Kidnapping and ritual
killing seem to be on the increase in Lagos
and around the country. Another way to express this is that there are more
reports of abductions for ritual killings these days than we used to have them.
Red Cross says that it has received reports of 10,480 missing persons in Nigeria . Every
other week or even day, we read reports about ‘ritualists den’ in Nigeria . Two
channels, social media and personal testimonies do a better job reporting the
incidents than mainstream media.
While mainstream outlets can be controlled not
to report the incidents (to give a good albeit false image of security) no one
can really control reports in social media. The latter presents gory pictures
of dismembered bodies. The most recent was that of a 200 level undergraduate at
the University of
Port Harcourt who
butchered a neighbour’s seven year old daughter for ritual, removed parts of
her body and attempted to dispose of the body in a garbage heap. Shocking!
Horrifying!
In the last six weeks I have met two Lagosians
who escaped abduction for ritual killing by the whiskers. Both incidents took
place in commercial transport, the notorious yellow buses of Lagos . Both ladies boarded a bus, one in
Onipanu bus stop and the other at Oniru on the island. The first lady boarded
the bus to take her to Ikeja; she ended up in Ikorodu. The second lady jumped
off a moving bus and saved her life. Somehow both managed to escape when it
became clear that death was a few hours away. While the former was spared by
the kidnapper/ritualists because of the coincidence of names (same State of
origin as one of the ritualists), the former jumped her way out of the moving
bus out of sheer courage. The other victims were taken away, never to be heard
from again. Routinely we encounter citizens who have similar stories to tell
from different parts of the country. One of my younger siblings, Ejiro, also
miraculously escaped ritual killing in 1986.
While I was writing this essay a report came out that one Abdulahi was arrested
in Ebute Metta in Lagos
while trying to use a ‘four-year old girl for suya'! What is the value of human
life in Nigeria ?
Lagosians are familiar with the notion of ‘one
chance’, a practice in which a commercial vehicle would drive to a bus stop and
announce to intending commuters that there is only one seat left. The message
is that the bus is set to go. Often it is the sign of ritual kidnappers, a ploy
to get desperate passengers and lure them to death. Late last year a namesake
and contemporary of mine Hope Ejerovbo disappeared somewhere in Lekki/Ajah area
and has since remained missing. He had taken a walk that morning in the estate
where he stayed and never returned home. His family is yet to put a closer to
his life, because of the deep uncertainty: will he show up some day? Was there
an accident? Was he kidnapped for ritual?
There have been reports of mutilated bodies
found in different parts of the city and around the country. In some cases the
head, breast, the eyes, parts of the vagina, and limbs are severed. Some
babalawos require human parts to make some idiotic fellow rich or powerful. We
have also read reports about some so-called pastors who perform human rituals
so that their congregation may grow! One so-called pastor was reported to have
buried bodies in the foundations of the church building! How insanely fetish
and madly desperate can some people be! There were warnings in some areas of Lagos , specifically
Ikorodu recently about a festival that would hold from 26th of August to August
29. In
part it said: ‘especially those who are not original indigenes of Ikorodu Town
to stay away from coming into Ikorodu
Township ’. What is the
import of this announcement in 21st Century Nigeria ? Surprising that in the
brave new world where festivals are being opened to all some primitive minds
still believe that women should not see a masquerade in the name of a ‘god’.
‘See a masquerade and lose any chance of ever getting pregnant!
The sad truth is that traditionally human
sacrifice has been a part of the human consciousness from the old times. In
primitive societies the sacrifice of a human being was considered the highest
form of sacrifice. Even in Europe this was practiced in the early centuries
according to James George Frazer in The Golden Bough where he made reference to
a certain king of Sweden
who sacrificed nine of his ten sons to gain longevity! Whereas societies in the
advanced world have moved on, some of our people are still stuck in time. There
is the superstitious and fetish belief that the life of a child or a mother or
a stranger can generate wealth. Perhaps it is possible, as the notorious ‘yahoo
yahoo’ boys believe. But it is unscientific, wicked, barbaric and backward.
Some have been reported to use their close relations for ritual. It has also
been reported that some politicians also indulge in this inhumane act as a way
of winning elections, maintaining power and getting on in life!
There is something barbaric about a mind which
subscribes to the belief that if you take the life of a human being in
sacrifice then prosperity would come. The world of computers, unlimited
opportunities through hard work is the way to go. How many ritual killing have
the Bill Gates, the Mark Zuckerbergs, the Mo Ibrahims done to make their billions?
What ritual killing did the software developers in India
or Silicon Valley perform to achieve such
phenomenal success? Yet our wealth seekers subscribe to the narrative of ritual
killing to stay afloat in their businesses. While researching this topic a
friend cynically asked whether I thought it would ever be possible to stop
ritual killings in Nigeria
because some very powerful people have benefitted from the inhumane practice.
I had no answer and still have no answer!
The intelligence agencies working in concert with the NURTW should rise to the
occasion and stop the mad ritualists in town. I recall that some security men
once came from London to Nigeria because they found a headless body
floating in the River Thames which had a link with Benin ! Our officials in charge
should be able to register ALL vehicles that ply different routes in Lagos . It is a huge task
but it is not impossible. The vehicles with their clear registration numbers
boldly written must be compelled to take off only from designated bus stops.
Through intelligence some drivers and affected passengers will be able to give
information on suspicious characters. Apart from the trauma which the immediate
family suffers, this practice makes Lagos
unsafe for citizens. It is hardly reported, but it exists. I also have two
friends who never got to put a closure to their mother’s life because in the
1990s she disappeared after getting to Lagos
from Delta! As a beneficiary of God’s grace after being in captivity for 16
days this is my little contribution to humanity: stop the menace of kidnappers
and ritualists in Lagos ,
and in the country. A task force by the Inspector-General of Police is in order!
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