'God need not waste His time'
The late Benson Idahosa, a popular preacher who is regarded as the father of the Pentecostal movement in Nigeria, called on national TV for the witches' conference to be called off. "Not even God can stop it," responded one of the organisers. "He's correct," Idahosa replied, "Because God need not waste His time when I'm here. I can handle this." Benson Idahosa led opposition to a conference of witches in the 1990s The conference was eventually cancelled. Idahosa gloated publicly that the international witches were unable to convene in Benin City because they were unable to get Nigerian visas. Apparently, the flamboyant preacher had influenced Nigeria's then-military ruler, Ibrahim Babangida, who issued the relevant instruction to Nigerian embassies around the world. The Nsukka conference must have evoked memories of Idahosa's famous confrontation with witches almost 30 years ago. The protesters and PFN were probably hoping for a similar victory. But it turned out there were no identifiable witches to forestall. The event was a gathering of intellectuals "to evaluate the belief in witchcraft and its impact on Nigerian society". "Apart from rumours about witchcraft, can we intelligently discuss the phenomenon of witchcraft?" commented Egodi Uchendu, a professor of history and international studies and one of the conference organisers. "Can we delineate its evolving dynamics, especially in regard to human and societal development? What does belief in witchcraft symbolise for civilians, the military, scholars, and others?"'Nothing evil'
However, in deference to the public outcry and at the vice-chancellor's request, the organisers did away with the word "witchcraft" on all publicity material. The word witchcraft was removed from all publicity material They also changed the theme to "Dimensions of Human Behaviour". The two-day event then went ahead. The keynote speaker had backed out because of the protests but the venue was moved to a larger hall to accommodate the crowd - many were drawn in by the accompanying hullaballoo. "We didn't change anything in the conference. We merely modified the title," said Benedict Ijomah, a professor of political sociology who participated in the conference. "All the papers were the same... You could just modify a sentence and there would be peace." Also in attendance at the conference were clergy from local churches. The opening prayer was conducted by a Catholic priest, the proceedings were moderated by an Anglican priest, and music was provided by a choir from the university chapel. "There was nothing evil," said Damian Apata, a lecturer in the department of English and literary studies. But prayer alone is not going to end the belief in witchcraft. It has persisted "even as people pray against witches and wizards", said Prof Uchendu. To combat the beliefs, education levels, therefore, need to improve so that, the professor said, a "pro-positive developmental mindset" emerges in Nigeria.DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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