•Why I fight to protect those tagged witches
By Stanley Uzoaru
Dr. Leo Igwe is renowned for his belief that witches and witchcraft do not exist.
Born in Mbaise in Imo State, Nigeria he holds a doctoral degree in religious studies from the University of Bayreuth in Germany, with research interest in witchcraft, religion and atheism in Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya.
At the moment, Igwe occasionally lectures, but he devotes most of his time working to eradicate the persecution of alleged witches and fostering critical thinking in schools. He co lectures critical pedagogy at the Nigerian Defence Academy Kaduna. He is also director of the Critical Thinking Social Empowerment Foundation and the Advocacy for Alleged Witches.
What motivated you to run this organisation?
I founded the organisation to supply the missing links in the campaign and efforts to end witch hunting in Nigeria and Africa. I was born into a community where allegations of witchcraft and occult harm were, and are still pervasive. I questioned these imputations while growing up. As a child, I doubted if those believed to have occult powers and those who claimed to have these powers did have magical powers because many of them lived and died in poverty. I doubted the reality or factuality of ritual money or wealth. Based on my life and academic experiences, I found out that those who used to be ‘accused’ or banished, tortured or victimised as witches were innocent. And these alleged witches were mainly the weak and vulnerable members of the population, those without the means to resist and neutralise allegations.
Thus, accusers often targeted women, the elderly, children, the poor, the disabled. In the light of my experiences, I was unsatisfied with the way that the issue of witch hunting had been addressed. Witch persecution has not been treated with the urgency that it deserves. I resolved to do something about this issue. I resolved to make some change. Thus I have been working and campaigning to empower the accused, amplify their voices and enable them to dispel allegations and sometimes get the authorities to penalise the accusers and witch hunters. I founded the organisation to fulfil the vision of ending witch hunting in Africa by 2030. I believe this goal could be achieved if the world wills.
Does that mean you don’t believe witches and rituals in the African setting exist?
We must get this right from the beginning; beliefs are not facts. And facts are facts, whether we believe them or not. Many Nigerians and Africans confuse and yes mistake fiction, or illusion and fact or reality. Put differently, one can believe and people do believe in the existence of something that does not exist. And that confusion or mistake is playing out in this case. First it is not a matter of whether I believe or not. There are no persons who turn to birds, or animals to go and cause harm, death or sickness to others. Nobody does or can do that. That is the definition of a witch. The belief is rooted in ignorance, fear and superstition, in misconception of nature and how nature works. There is no evidence that ritual or human sacrifice yields money whether in African or non African setting. The belief does not make it true; the setting does not make it a fact. Africans should know this and know peace.
If it does not exist, like you stated, why then do we have words like voodoo and exorcism, among others
As I earlier noted, words do not confer reality or fact on anything. Words are what they are: ‘words’. They describe or verbalise what we do, think, imagine or assume. They are not proofs or demonstrations that what is worded is true or false. That people claim to talk or communicate with the dead (necromancy) does not imply that such communications happen or take place. That some people claim to exorcise demons does not mean that demons exist. There are make-believes. Many words describe mere beliefs or make-believes. Witchcraft or ritual belief is make-believe.
So many people have lost their lives to this belief. What can be done to curb it?
A lot can be done. First the public must be educated and enlightened to discard the belief that witchcraft or ritual money is real, that people harm or can harm others through supernatural means, or that the sacrifice of human beings or their body parts can yield money. People must abandon the beliefs that enable and justify abuses, the attack and killing of innocent people, the abuse of people who should be treated with care and compassion. Our institutions, schools, the police, courts, state and civil society organisations must get to work. They must rise to the challenge of educating and properly guiding the public. The moral leadership that has been lacking must be provided.
Witchcraft accusation is against the law. Jungle justice or trial by ordeal is prohibited under the law. We need to start enforcing the law of the country. We also need to start fulfilling our obligations under the international law. In 2021, the UN passed a resolution urging member states to take measures to combat abuses linked to witchcraft beliefs and ritual attacks. Nigeria should strive to implement provisions in this resolution. Churches in Nigeria should be persuaded to emulate their western counterparts that have apologised for their role in witch-hunting in early modern Europe. Witch-hunting is a case of miscarriage of justice. It is a faith-based human rights abuse. Everybody should become an advocate and make some efforts to protect any suspected or accused person in their family or community. Lastly, any case of witchcraft accusation or witch persecution, any instance of ritual killing or attack should be reported to the Advocacy for Alleged Witches for necessary actions and interventions.
Back in the days, our forefathers worship deities like Amadioha in Igboland, Ogun in Yorubaland, and so on. Would you say those are also make-believes?
Look, if those were not make-believes, you won’t describe them as ‘idols.’ In other words, images and representations of gods created by human beings. The key phrase there is ‘created by human beings’. Those idols did not create or name themselves. They did not invest themselves with powers and faculties that are associated with them. Humans crafted and invested them with powers and duties. And since the Christian and Islamic gods have proved to be more ‘powerful’, people are shifting attention and loyalty away from these gods and idols toward purportedly stronger gods and idols, Christian and Islamic gods and idols. Africans must open their eyes; they need to wake up from their dogmatic and supernatural slumber.
Can you dismantle such idols with your bare hands?
Yes Why not? You can refrain from doing that out of fear which they implanted in you to control you. Why can’t we dismantle what we installed? Why? That happens every day and every time. We have forgotten that adage in Igbo that translates as If a god or idol starts proving too powerful, we tell it the wood used in carving it. Simply put, a god or God cannot be more powerful than those who created or installed it. Go to many places in the South-East, are they not dismantling those shrines and supposed abodes of powerful deities? What happened? Nothing! In some cases, they destroy one god abode and replace or substitute it with another. They destroy the shrine of Amadioha and build a church instead or in the northern part, they destroy a church and replace it with a mosque.
They dismantle the architecture of one make-believe and replace it with the architecture of another make-believe. In Europe, they are converting churches to bars and restaurants. Aren’t they? What has happened? Nothing. Because gods, spirits, demons and other so-called occult, principalities and power do not exist in these places as popularly believed. They exist in the minds of believers. If you dismantle those abodes of deities and gods, nothing happens, nothing will happen. What happened when they bulldozed and destroyed Okija shrine sometime ago? Nothing. Same with other supposed abodes of gods.
There was a case of a Tell us about the woman murdered because of this alleged witchcraft in Imo. Has justice been served?
This incident came to attention some days ago and we are still trying to understand what happened. From the information that we have gathered so far, a local mob killed the perpetrator and the corpse of the victim is in the mortuary. The police came and took away the corpse. No investigation is underway. The victim was living alone. She was a widow. She had no child. It is a sad and unfortunate incident. We will be using the information that we have gathered for public education and enlightenment. Again as in many cases like this, we failed this woman as a society. Justice can only be fully served if we resolve and make sure that no woman suffers this fate again, and that the vicious superstitious belief that motivated this atrocity is rooted out.
So far, are the law enforcement agents helping in discouraging this belief?
From our experience, it is a mixed bag. The law enforcement agents are both a part of the problem; they are also a part of the solution. They are helping in some cases but sometimes they add to the problem. The police are a part of the problem because some officers, many indeed believe in witchcraft and ritual money.
Because they believe or allow their beliefs to override their duties, they are reluctant in intervening. Recently we reported a witch persecution case at the state police command in Owerri. And a police officer asked me, what about those who confess? Are you saying witches do not exist? In addition, most times, the police ask for mobilisation fees before they can intervene, and if they are not mobilized they won’t intervene, they won’t arrest or investigate suspects. In most cases, victims are poor persons who cannot afford to ‘mobilise’ the police.
What’s your advice in this regard?
First, the law enforcement agents should enforce the law, not their beliefs. They should be professional not ‘confessional’ in going about their duties. The police should know that they are a constituted authority and should carry out their duties in line with the constitution, not with their faith or tradition.
Again the police should be more proactive and not reactive to cases of witch hunting and ritual attacks. They should not wait for these incidents to happen or be reported before taking some measure. The police should monitor communities where these cases are rampant including activities of churches, pastors and other witch finders. In addition, there is a need for intense health education programmes in communities to complement law enforcement.
Do the churches also aid witchcraft?
Yes. Many churches devote a lot of time imputing witchcraft, exorcising witchcraft and sanctifying witch hunting in families and communities. Churches are the drivers and propellers of modern day witch-hunting.