Fear Grips Ex-Governor Ugwuanyi's Community In Enugu As Elders Plan To Invoke 'Spirit Of Deity' On Youths

According to a report by SaharaReporters, palpable tension has gripped Orba, the country home of a former governor of Enugu State, Dr Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

There is tension in the area following plans by a group of elders to invoke the powers of deities in the community on their youths indulging in cultism.

The community which is in the Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu has recently been ravaged by the activities of various cult groups.

To contain the gale of cult-related activities in the community, a group known as Oha Orba, has scheduled Sunday, August 20, 2023, for the invocation of the deity. The group in the past has also been accused of selectively ostracising leaders of the town.

SaharaReporters reports the move may lead to a crisis in the ancient town famous for trading as some youths and Christians have threatened an uprising should the group go ahead with its plan. 

Sources told SaharaReporters that Orha Oba unilaterally imposed a levy of N100,000 on each of the seven communities that make up the town, while influential leaders have allegedly been asked to make personal donations towards the cause.

One of the sources revealed that prominent among those who have paid towards the invocation of the deity include Hon. Cyril Okanya (Okadigbo) of Umu Okara, who was said to have paid the sum of N50,000.00, Chidi Martins Ugwu of Owerre-Eze Orba (N50,000.00) and another person whose name was simply given as “Budget". The person also reportedly paid N50,000.

Also on the list of donors, a source revealed, is the President of Orba Udu Youths Assembly, whose contribution of N100,000, on behalf of the youths is threatening to cause crises, as members of the assembly have begun to ask how the president got the authorisation to release the money.

The source further revealed that the youths are not angry about efforts to contain cultism in the town, but are concerned that the effort is being led by a group made up of discredited elders, who failed to recognize the religious plurality of the town and the predominantly Christian population before embarking on a measure whose impact might linger in the town for generations. 

It was also gathered that many elders are being blamed for fuelling the same cultism they are pretending to eradicate.

The source said, “The Oha Orba has become a criminal enterprise and is being manipulated by one character whose name is Goddy Ugwueze, who has no known means of livelihood other than stripping vulnerable people of their land. 

"He has been in this evil business of blackmail for a long time and would always claim he has the backing of the government, and I think the time has come for the government and the people to call his bluff and hold him to account." 

“How can people be thinking this way in 2023,” a youth leader in the community said.

"How can a small group of elders in a community sit and conclude that the best option in solving a social problem such as cultism is to invoke dangerous deities on young people? Do they know the implication? Do they even know how many of their children are members of secret cults and who would be dying or going mad mysteriously, if they go ahead with that evil plan?"

Another member of the community who spoke on condition of anonymity, blamed the elders for the spate of secret cult activities ravaging the town and surrounding communities.

“The question I want to ask them is this,” he said, adding “Who is responsible for these cult activities? Is it, not the same Oha Orba elders and their cohorts that are now talking about the invocation of deadly deities? What purpose have they served for the Orba people? 

"While the other communities are making progress and telling good stories about themselves, a small group of people will impose themselves on our community and bring a bad name to us. Imagine how the world would laugh at us upon hearing the sort of solution people are prescribing against social problems in this age of technology.”

When asked what the alternative solution should be, the source said the challenge facing the youths is poverty and unemployment. 

The source added that those who are contributing money to invoke deities against the youths should employ young people to work for them.

“The solution is not hard to come by, but unfortunately, these people are not thinking like adults. If the youths are productively engaged, do you think they would have time for cult activities and violent crimes? The problem is that those who are behind this project are either wicked, ignorant, or jobless. They do not mean well; they just want to swindle our people and we will not allow it,” he said.

He called on the Enugu State Government and the Catholic and Anglican Bishops of Nsukka Dioceses to caution the group and prevent the situation from degenerating into full-scale unrest.