Nigeria Abroad
His agenda is not clear yet but David Umahi, governor of Nigeria’s Ebonyi State has said his own: as part of state efforts to repel insecurity, all native doctors in the southeastern state must be registered within 7 days.
Even the choice of 7 days has a supernatural ring to it.
No one knows in what way native doctors are connected to the violence going on in the state as in other parts of the country—whether as secret villains or as potential policy experts to help the state produce safety potions for indigenes.
The latter is not farfetched: it’s already happening in Nigeria’s West African neighbor Burkina Faso, where terror has compelled a resort to spiritual powers to protect citizens.
“Antoine Ouedraogo didn’t run when Islamic extremist fighters killed his colleagues only feet away from him in northern Burkina Faso. Instead, the 53-year-old says, he simply recited a secret word and became invisible,” the Associated Press reported yesterday.
“The father of 17, who used to arrest bandits and now fights the extremists as part of a local defense militia, says a secret medicine he took as a child continues to protect him from bullets and machetes.”
Fighters like Ouedraogo are putting their faith in these traditional spiritual practices to protect them as attacks linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State ravage the West African nation, killing thousands and displacing more than 1 million people. The deeply rooted tradition holds that plants, animals and ritual objects mixed with verses from holy texts can provide protection before going to battle.
“Before someone faces a challenge, they know there are supernatural powers and spirits they can call upon in any situation,” said Jean Celestin Ky, professor of history at Joseph Ki-Zerbo University in Ouagadougou.
Fighters in Burkina Faso were reluctant to divulge too much about the process and types of plants used, saying those are kept secret even from family members.
But they explained that one way to become “bulletproof” involves mixing 13 plants, inserting the paste into food, and eating it out of a hole in the ground. The meal is prepared with water that was used to soak a metal arrow for 72 hours — the idea being that since the arrow is metal, a person will be protected from the heat of the bullet if shot.
While many Burkinabe grew up familiar with these practices, some never participated in them until the jihadis arrived several years ago.
Soumaila, a 19-year-old volunteer fighter tasked with helping the army combat extremists in rural parts of the country, said he only started using spiritual protection for the first time when jihadis attacked his village in the north.
Even before receiving a gun, community leaders gave Soumaila and other fighters bracelets, rings and special clothing that would stave off severe injury and death, he said. The AP is only using his first name to protect his identity as he feared reprisals for speaking to journalists.
Soumaila has survived at least 10 clashes with jihadis over a year and a half, a feat he attributes to a custom-made jacket he believes repels bullets. It cost nearly $90, a huge sum in rural Burkina Faso.
Some religious leaders, though, worry the rituals provide a false sense of security for fighters, many of whom are ill-equipped and lack training.
For Governor Umahi, it’s not clear whether there’s inspiration from Burkina Faso, but if prayers have been part of our national arsenal against insecurity, what would be wrong with native doctors joining the fray?
This story first appeared in Nigeria Abroad
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