The ongoing melodrama between the government of Anambra State led by Governor Chukwuma Soludo and those he believes to be “evil”and “fake” native Doctors, Eze Nwanyi and their ilk, is one that is getting interesting by the day and in many ways. Rightly or wrongly, apart from the believed utilitarian value of this ongoing dramatic performance in the aspect of it helping to invoke fear and instill same in the minds of people generally, especially the criminal elements and gangs as well as evil doers alike, who have fully embraced diabolism, cruelty and wickedness as a lifestyle, there is practically nothing tangible in this whole entertainment galore that could substantially be deployed to weigh against this category of people in real evidence before a competent court of law. This is because aside from the allegations of their possible indulgence in the making or preparation of such evil phenomena as oke ite ( i.e evil pot), Uduakomili, Ibobo, Awale and a host of other nonsense, as culled from a piece written by one of Governor Soludo’s high-ranking appointees, reportedly being mulled to be used against these so-called evil or fake native Doctors currently being interrogated by the Soludo-led government, one wonders how all of these abracadabra could be assembled and communicated to a court of competent Jurisdiction or be transformed into empirical evidence as to constitute a criminal offence over which a court of law is expected to rely upon in predicating its fact-based Judgement against them. Honestly, this is not just really funny, but also it underscores the fact that we are actually facing an interesting time in the annals of the evolving history of Anambra State. Though these so-called fake and evil native Doctors and their ilk may or may not be complicit in whatever charges to be preferred against them in due course, the fact that their operative activities border more on the things of the paranormal – which more often than not are never considered viable subjects of litigations – makes their ongoing encounter with Soludo-led government more of a melodrama, with its end in sight.
However, though, one must acknowledge the obvious fact and readily give it all to Governor Chukwuma Soludo, that since the inception of Anambra State security outfit code-named operation Udo Ga Achi, a.k.a Agunaechemba, there has been a significant improvement in the security situation in Anambra State. And whether one likes it or not, this is a clear plus to Governor Soludo and his entire government by extension. Unarguably, that the criminal elements terrorizing the state are today being hit so hard to their bone marrow is not mere passing remark nor just-a-common milestone in the short term, but a worthy giant stride bound to restore public confidence in the entire business of governance in the long term, if carefully sustained. Today, good enough, events have also shown that contrary to hither to erroneous notion being propagated by Soludo himself that the insecurity in Anambra was largely occasioned by the activities of agitators for Biafra self-determination, it would appear with hindsight that nothing could be further from the truth. As it were, going by the age brackets of criminal perpetrators so far reportedly apprehended, it would equally appear that the crime of kidnapping and other forms of criminality in Anambra State are now the exclusive preserve of young chaps in their prime.
Nonetheless, the Soludo-led government shall be doing itself a great service by looking beyond this trend in dissecting the true picture of the entire security situation unfolding in the state. For one, it still baffles one what could be the real motive of the young chaps allegedly and randomly apprehended so far over the killings of certain public figures in Anambra State before now. Could it just be as a result of sheer drive for wealth without work? Or, is there possiblity that some of these killings by the apprehended young chaps could have been orchestrated by some big bosses living in opulence and only operating effectively from behind the scene? These and more are questions of abiding concern that the Soludo-led government ought to pay serious heed to.
That said, it is totally erroneous and fundamentally misleading for no other person than Prof. Chukwuma Soludo himself to have regarded and declared Anambra a Christian state, and, then, to be standing on such a fundamentally faulty proclamation to be treating the Igbo traditional religion and its faithful with some sense of relegation and lack of reverence. The truth is that every religion has its own extremists and abusers. In Nigeria, for example, both Christianity and Islam have their own share of a huge population of this category of faithful, so to speak. Therefore, the mere fact that a few native Doctors, Eze Nwanyi and their ilk are found to be operating within the context of Igbo traditional religion and are perceived to indulge in acts quite unbecoming of reasonable beings, does not in itself translate to or warrant a wholesome condemnation of extant Igbo traditional religious practices, ways of worship and communion of the ancestral spirits, some aspects of which have been demonized by the so-called Anambra State Homeland security law 2025.
While of course this is a discrete topic of discourse best reserved for some other day and in some other forum or treat, it needs to be emphasized here that, the mere fact that the bulk of Ndi Anambra are church goers, not necessarily Christians in the real sense of the meaning of the word, should not be relied upon to just pronounce the state with a wave of hand a Christian enclave. After all, without very heavy and consistent patronage being enjoyed by these same so-called christians and church goers alike, the former would have long gone out of their professions. A Christian state indeed, yet the bulk of traditional title holders and red cap chiefs in the state derive their essence from the Igbo traditional religious practices and observances. Ironically, these are all supposedly “christians” who publicly condemn and regard the practice of their original religion as an act of indulgence in idolatry, but would still steal out time especially in the night to consult with the same evil and fake native Doctors and Eze Nwanyi in order to check their going-in and going-out for them, every now and then.
Similarly, this same hypocrisy would appear to apply to all those recently hired by Governor Chukwuma Soludo as members of the Agunaechemba security outfit. Whereas one lacks a clear empirical evidence to show/prove that they too are equally fortified or protected by the bullet-proof amulet of Odeshi which is only obtainable from the so-called “fake” and “evil” native Doctors and Eze Nwanyi, it is extremely difficult for any sane mind to vouch for them as a people and as a group that they too are lacking in the knowledge of or are not equally deeply involved in such esoteric practices well-rooted in the traditional religious system of the Igbo.
Meanwhile, for the sake of clarity, the intent here is not to ridicule or undermine the commendable efforts of Anambra State government in its relentless war against criminality in the state. Nay! But rather, the chief concern of the writer is the seemingly covert and subtle attempts (knowingly or unknowingly) by the Soludo-led government to tarnish the image of the Igbo traditional religion in the state and its modus operandi. And in the process of all of this, to superimpose Christianity (instead of secularism) on the state, thus using the dastardly and diabolical activities of some unscrupulous elements that are called evil and fake native Doctors and Eze Nwanyi to justify the nexus between the raging criminality in the state and the Igbo traditional religion. Conversely, this present writer is hell-bent on separating Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo’s ongoing sheer melodrama and grandstanding in the fight against criminality in the state from any unholy relationship with Igbo traditional religion in the state.
Like Aristotle is widely noted to have loved Plato but loved the truth much more, nothing in our instant circumstances could therefore be further from this same truth. Prof. Soludo would do well to quit deluding himself, and not Ndi Anambra.
Onyiorah Paschal Chiduluemije
Writes from Abatete, Anambra State
and could be reached via +234(0)8127033908
