RIGHT TO DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON IN RELATION TO WITCHCRAFT ALLEGATIONS - BY EDIM E. EDIM ESQ

WHAT ABOUT WITCHCRAFT ALLEGATION?

In Nigeria, witchcraft allegation is a critical factor in the violation of rights (especially elderly women's rights). The major reason for the abuse is the belief that they (so called witches) have the tendency to harm innocent people in strange concealed manners. Several people believe that they possess the magical powers to fly at night (like the popular Edo Airways) and travel far and wide to kill people, cause disease in humans, sudden death, bad luck and other misfortunes. People also strongly believe that when they want to harm their victims, they transform into animals and so on. 

Who is a witch?

Do witches really exist?

Is witchcraftcy an imaginary offence?

Is the practice of witchcraftcy merely a psychological matter?

If witchcraftcy is an imaginary offence and therefore not real, as widely acclaimed by scholars, why do accusations and persecutions of this nature still persist?  The causes of this beliefs are complex and cannot be linked to one origin. 

The high level of religious indoctrination has even made matters worse. In Nigeria, pastors have incorporated African witchcraft beliefs in their brands of Christianity thereby resulting in violent campaign against others. Some preachers make money out of the fear they have instilled in the followers by providing costly exorcism services. They make their followers believe that when something bad happens, there is a spiritual force behind it. This is what lies behind the idea of witchcraft. If you get sick, rather than think that you ate something that caused problems with your biological system, you quickly turn it into a spiritual problem. 

Nigerian pastors have installed a witch imaginary system in the minds of their followers and this "witch imaginaries" are recharged everyday at prayer meetings, house fellowships, at churches and mosques by pastors, ministers, mallams and imams.

The general prayer of every elderly person in Nigeria is for their own children to take care of them while they are still alive and give them a befitting burial when they die. This makes an average elderly Nigerian wish to die before his or her children. In the event that such an elderly person witnesses the death of children or younger adults in the family, the situation creates a lot of anxiety in the elderly as this might lead the children to cultivate a negative attitude towards their aged parents. 

Persons accused of witchcraft suffer unbearable violation of their Human Rights. The abuses range from burning, stoning, chanting/shaming, isolation, abandonment, deprivation, murder, etc.  Abandonment resulting from witchcraft accusation is a contributing factor to the huge number of destitutes in Nigeria, especially in villages. The Government has also failed in providing alternative facilities for persons accused of witchcraft and this violates their right to be catered for or protected. 

What are we doing as a society to stop this menace? Have we paused and pondered that a time will come when we will also grow old and need help, assistance and care? How would you feel when instead of getting your deserved care, you are labelled a witch by your children and family after dedicating your entire life to ensure they had the best life? You that labels an old woman a witch on sight because her face looks squeezed and wrinkled, are you sure you're normal? Is all well? 

Interestingly, children are not left out of this abuse. As a matter of fact, there are churches that engage in acts of exorcism (ritual of driving out evil) on children for exorbitant sums. Some Evangelist preachers have dedicated their time into spreading the view that children can become possessed by evil spirits. One of such preachers is a popular Calabar Evangelist, Helen Ukpabio whom according to Wikipedia sources, has published her views in several books. An example being "unveiling the mysteries of witchcraft" where she states that:

"Under the age of two, the child dreams at night, cries, is always feverish, suddenly deteriorates in health, puts up am attitude of fear, and may not feed very well".

She also produces through her film production company, Liberty Films, a number of films spreading the aforesaid view. The most famous of this is "End of the wicked" where child actors are shown to eat human flesh and murder their parents. Consequentially, she has been prevented by the Home Office from entering Great Britain by revoking her Visa after calls from campaigners in 2014 that she be banned from Britain on child protection grounds. 

Unfortunately, persons who carry out or look away while these abuses are carried out, are prominent members of the society like traditional rulers and community leaders.  This causes the government to lack the political will to bring these influential people to justice. 

The National Assembly must therefore enact legislation that would bring an end to the torture of persons accused of witchcraft. There has to be a massive awareness drive by the media and civil rights organizations against the belief of witchcraftcy.

What do you think? 

Thanks for reading and please share your thoughts in the comment section.