The gods in handcuffs: Soludo vs juju priests

I’m intrigued by events in Anambra State, where juju priests and native doctors are being clamped down and thrown into detention. Governor Chukwuma Soludo recently signed a law which criminalizes the activities of traditional priests suspected of being connected to crime.

Called the Homeland Security Law, the act aspires to enhance security and maintain public order, with some provisions focusing on various aspects of community life. The parts concerning traditional worship prohibit practices by leaders of traditional religion that are deemed detrimental to the security of the state. These include rituals believed to provide “spiritual cover” or “invincibility” to criminals. It also calls for registration and regulation of traditional worship centres and shrines so the state can monitor them.

As a result, many native doctors and juju priests have been detained. At the last count, over 30 of them have been arrested, including Chidozie Nwangwu, popularly known as Akwa Okuko Tiwara Aki, famous for displaying wealth on social media and for his claims of being able to offer protection against gunshots and other dangers.

Initially, I was vexed by the actions of the state government, which seem to target practitioners of traditional religion unfairly. What about other faiths, which, no doubt, have a good share of clerical leaders that can be considered fake? Why are they exempted by the law? Then, how do you determine that a juju priest is fraudulent and not true to his faith? With what metrics do you decide that, since juju worship, like other faiths, deals with the supernatural, which is ordinarily outside the realms of science and logic?

But after serious consideration of the matter, I can hardly blame the governor. Anambra has spiraled into violence, nearing complete chaos with numerous kidnappings and killings. Notable Anambra people who have been killed lately include Dr Chike Akunyili, the husband of late Dora Akunyili, who was gunned down with his driver, and Chief Obidinma Isiah Okoli Onyemelukwe, a Nigerian economist and professor emeritus, who was shot by armed men in Oko.

The Anambra anarchy started first with the Monday-sit-at-home by the IPOB gang, and then it graduated to the mess it is today with the near-total breakdown of law and order. Doing nothing would be conceding state powers to the criminals, with disastrous consequences. Thankfully, that is not what Governor Soludo did; he appears to be working hard to fix the problem and restore confidence in state powers while dealing with the plethora of criminal gangs causing trouble.

But why target leaders of traditional worship? Perhaps there is a special connection between the gangs trying to bring Anambra to its knees and the juju priests in the state. Perhaps these juju priests, if for nothing, provide psychological boosts to the criminals, making them feel invincible and more confident to perpetrate evil. I don’t know the particulars of the situation, but the Governor couldn’t have targeted the traditionalists without a cause. That said, the law should be tested in court to determine its constitutionality and whether it discriminates on the basis of religious beliefs.

But I would think that the traditionalists, being very powerful people who confer with the gods regularly, do not need legal protection and validation. They have odeshi and otumorkpo to help them navigate this quagmire. They could easily strike the Governor dead with secret incantations and disappear from their holding cells.

Or can’t they?

If they are miserable and helpless in the cells like the typical criminal, of what use are their gods? Why can’t their secret knowledge about the spirit world, supernatural powers and divine connection help them? All those medicines and rituals they recommend to their clients with flourish (‘two black goats and one leg-chicken to be thrown into the river at 12 midnight sharp’), can’t they perform the same for themselves now and get out of their current trouble?

At the end of the day, we probably need to give Governor Soludo a national honour for his service to mankind for the demystification of the dibias and taking back the powers society had given them uncritically. It is now unlikely that anyone would patronize a dibia or juju priest who was seen on TV crying and begging to be freed and who couldn’t deploy the juju he recommends for others.

The simple question is, if they were that powerful, why couldn’t they help themselves?

Governor Soludo, jisie ike!