Of Nigerian Christians and Resilient Witches

(By Immanuel James Ibe-Anyanwu) - In Defense of Witches 

Witches have lost again. In prayer houses, Nollywood and, finally, on campus, they always lose to Christian Talibanism. But be sure they will be back. The war on witches never ends, nor do those urchins stay vanquished long on the ground. The University of Nigeria has said the “witch conference” should choose another venue—and that is an unfair phrase, witch conference, as headlines call it. Witches have always had bad reportage, yet they rise. 

Never mind having a Supreme Father, never mind all the assurances of safety in the Bible by that Father, the Nigerian Christian is the most afraid creature on earth. Sleepless in his fear of something he declares has no power, suspicious of every noise within range. “Killing”, casting and binding in a tautology of chants against an agency whose apparent immortality never compels a rethink. 

What if there are no witches? Maybe witches, alongside the devil in that binary of good and evil, were invented to keep spirituality perpetually on course? Or perhaps they exist, but not in the touted sense.

Even the law hates witches, though it doesn’t properly define it. Perhaps the best definition of a witch is someone who is on the opposite side of our own religious beliefs. There is no practice attributed to witchcraft that is not today practiced by other established religions, at least by a token. Cursing; spiritual manipulation—there are churches where lovers’ photos can be submitted to conjure up a marriage; bewitchment—prayers have been invoked against certain causes perceived to be unchristian, never mind how beneficial to humanity. Witchcraft exists in a spectrum, as it is a matter of perception. 

I used to tell friends that I would love to attend a witchcraft meeting someday to see exactly how those guys do it. To see if that power can assist Africa’s poor technological curiosity. But more so to learn how they stay up and strong despite all the energy deployed to their destruction. “I shall study all things”, said Aristotle. Me too, except that I’m lazy and dull. There is a lesson to be learnt from the resilience of witches, and oddly enough many Pentecostal Christians need it.