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Africans, Apologize To Family Members For Witchcraft Accusations, Witch Persecution. – AfAW

Published

2 years ago

October 21, 2022

NewTimes

Africans, Apologize To Family Members For Witchcraft Accusations, Witch Persecution. - AfAW

The Advocacy for Alleged Witches has urged witch-suspecting and accusing Africans to apologize to family members.

According to Dr Leo Igwe of AfAW, this appeal follows a video message where a Nigerian expressed regret to his family members for branding them witches and blaming them for his problems. In the 2-minute video message, recorded in pidgin English, this young Nigerian who traveled abroad made it clear that traveling overseas opened his eyes to so many things. He called poverty a bastard and that living overseas had made him not to remember certain things. This young man noted that if one were in Nigeria, one would think that every neighbor was a witch. That one’s relatives, uncles, and aunts who did nothing to harm someone were witches. He attributed witch belief to poverty. He explained that there was a point one could be poor, or one would live and languish in poverty and the miserable situation would destroy one’s thoughts and mind.

READ ALSO: Police Stop Seminar On Witch Persecution In Makurdi

The statement issued on Thursday said : “To add to it, one could start attending one of these useless churches (yeye church) and the pastor would prophesy that the problems that one was encountering were from the family. Subsequently, one would begin to suspect any of the uncles and other relatives, especially the poor ones of witchcraft; that they were the people withholding the destinies. He further stated that since he traveled out of Nigeria, he realized that all those allegations and suspicions were false and baseless; that no one was withholding any person’s progress. That it was poverty. This guy noted that he had stopped saying certain kinds of prayers. He only prayed to thank God for helping him see a new day. He had stopped praying against spirits from the father’s compound. This young made it clear that there was no spirit anywhere; that we had accused innocent people for nothing. He used the video message to apologize to his uncles and aunts whom he had suspected of witchcraft or imagined to be withholding his progress every time he prayed in the church. He told those relatives that he was sorry and that it was not true that they were hampering his progress in any way. This guy went further to enjoin all Africans in Cameroon, Ghana, Gambia, and Togo who suspected their relatives of witchcraft or occult harm, to go and apologize to them. He declared: ‘Nobody is a witch; there are no witches, it is poverty’. He noted that poverty and hunger could destroy people’s thinking processes and could engender witchcraft fears and anxieties. He concluded the video message by urging those who watched it to share the video so that God would bless them so that they would travel and stop suspecting people of witchcraft. ”

AfAW commends this young man “for the educative and enlightening video message that reiterates the position of AfAW. The Advocacy for Alleged Witches maintains that witches are imaginary beings and witchcraft is a form of superstition. AfAW is of the view that suspected witches are innocent people. More especially, AfAW welcomes the move to apologize to relatives suspected of witchcraft. Many Africans who realize their error in accusing and persecuting family members for witchcraft do not usually express remorse or regret. They simply keep mute. And this approach is wrong.

READ ALSO: Treat Witch Persecution In Africa With Urgency – AfAW

“Unfortunately, many Africans who travel overseas have not realized their mistake in suspecting family members of witchcraft. To this end, some western anthropologists have attributed this trend to African witchcraft going global. Africans who live abroad actively suspect relatives of magically harming them or using occult means to undermine their progress. There have been cases where Africans who live in Europe or America suspect relatives back home of bewitching them and making it difficult or impossible for them to make progress. These suspected witches are family members who never traveled abroad. From overseas, they threaten or accuse these family members, abandon them or deny them support and assistance. They would hope and pray for them to die.”

AfAW supports the process of African enlightenment going global. AfAW enjoins all Africans to emulate this young man and openly express remorse for witchcraft allegations.

“Africans should abandon witchcraft beliefs because witches do not exist. Africans should apologize to family and community members for suspecting or accusing them of witchcraft”, the group said.

It stated: “In addition, Africans do not need to travel overseas before realizing that witches do not exist. That witchcraft is a form of superstition. Look, it is not all Africans that have or will have the opportunity of traveling overseas. While traveling is helpful, it is not a necessary condition to overcome witchcraft fears and anxieties.

READ ALSO: Witch Hunting: Torturers Should Not Get Away With Their Crimes – AfAW

“AfAW acknowledges the role of poverty and hunger in witchcraft accusations and witch persecutions. But witchcraft fears and anxieties are rooted more in poverty of the mind, and intellect, not of the pocket because rich Africans also believe in witchcraft and suspect family members of perpetrating magical harm. Rich Africans who live overseas entertain witchcraft fears and anxieties and are drivers of witch hunting and accusations of demon/spirit possessions in families. Many Africans attend witch-hunting churches in Europe and America where illiterate pastors and charlatans reinforce these beliefs. Witch-believing Africans who live overseas hire witch-hunters, and support witch-hunting in their communities. All witch-suspecting and witch-persecuting Africans should apologize to family members now. Like this young man, they should express remorse and regret from wherever they are, in Africa or overseas, for their misdeeds and for victimizing innocent family members.”

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Falola To Inaugurate Annual Founders’ Lecture At Atiba University, Oyo

Published

1 day ago

March 11, 2025

NewTimes

Dele Jegede In Conversation With Prince Yemisi Shyllon

On Wednesday, March 19th, Professor Toyin Falola, Africa’s most decorated humanity scholar and Nigeria’s most preeminent historian, will inaugurate the Founders’ Day lecture at Atiba University. When contacted, he said he considers it an honor for the privilege the Management of Atiba University, Oyo State, Nigeria, extended to him to deliver a lecture to a team of highly cerebral teachers and students. On March 19, 2025, at 10 a.m. Nigerian Time, Falola will speak on “Rethinking Tertiary Education in Nigeria through Private Universities for Sustainable Development.”

In a paper already released to the media, Falola considers inadequate finance, crammed classes, declining quality, and a widening discrepancy between graduate competency and industry standards as the most significant or major challenges plaguing Nigeria’s public tertiary education ecosystem. Against the backdrop of the faltering inability of public universities to meet the demands for their offerings, he argues that private universities offer a viable alternative or substitute. Private universities provide students with contemporary facilities, a disciplined study atmosphere, and a curriculum tailored to worldwide standards.

In this significant maiden, Falola considers how private universities may support sustainable development through innovation, increased research possibilities, and closing the talent gap, thereby fostering private institutions. He looks at how they may improve access to educational options, fix government institution inefficiencies, and help the economy grow. This major lecture further discusses policy options for enhancing the quality of education given by private universities in Nigeria. He shows how policy actions will guarantee that education is reasonably priced and encourage alliances between the public and commercial sectors to raise educational standards.

He divided his talk into six parts. He briefly overviews the challenges in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector, with private universities emerging as a viable alternative and the importance of aligning higher education with sustainable development. He then moves to Part II, where he examines Nigeria’s state of tertiary education. Here, he looks at the challenges facing tertiary education in Nigeria, such as inadequate government funding and its impact on public universities, overpopulation in public institutions, declining academic quality, and the disconnect between academic curricula and industry demands. In Part III, Falola’s lecture analyzes the role of private universities in addressing these challenges. He considers some selling points of private universities, such as smaller class sizes and better learning environments; investment in modern facilities and technology-driven education; stronger links with industries for practical training and employability; and research and innovation contributions to national development, and how these make private universities a viable alternative to their public university counterparts.

Falola situates private universities within sustainable development, looking at how they contribute to sustainable development by producing graduates with relevant skills for Nigeria’s economy, encouraging entrepreneurship and self-sufficiency, fostering innovation through research and development, and enhancing global competitiveness in education. He offers policy recommendations: the government should support private universities through favorable policies, public-private partnerships to improve access and affordability, strengthening quality assurance and accreditation system, and encouraging investment in research and development. The lecture closes by making a call to action on stakeholders, including government, educators, and investors, while emphasizing the need for a collaborative approach to redefine tertiary education for Nigeria’s sustainable future.

Professor Sunday Olawale Okeniyi, the Vice-Chancellor, has invited all the members of the public to attend the lecture.

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Falola To Deliver Memorial Lecture In Honour Of Olukotun

Published

1 day ago

March 11, 2025

NewTimes

Prof. Toyin Falola

Lead City University, Ibadan, is set to host an inaugural memorial lecture in honour of the late renowned scholar and public intellectual, Prof. Ayo Olukotun.

Olukotun, an activist, public intellectual, erudite scholar, accomplished journalist, professor of Political Science, and a dedicated columnist for The PUNCH died on January 4, 2023 at age 69.

The event, scheduled for Tuesday, March 18, 2025, will hold at Adeline Hall within the university’s premises, starting at 10:30 a.m. The lecture, themed “Ayo Olukotun and the Nigerian Nation,” will be delivered by globally acclaimed historian and professor at the University of Texas at Austin, Prof. Toyin Falola.

According to Prof. Falola, “Ayo Olukotun was the voice of our nation. He has repeatedly screamed warnings into the ears of Nigerian leaders and citizens through his pen to rouse the nation from its slumber. The symposium aims to reflect on Olukotun’s intellectual prowess and its impact on nation-building.”

Speaking about the upcoming event, the Vice-Chancellor of Lead City University, Prof. Kabiru Adeyemo, said the lecture was a way to immortalise the legacy of Prof. Olukotun, whose works shaped the discourse around governance, media, and national development in Nigeria.

“Prof. Ayo Olukotun was a towering intellectual whose writings and contributions consistently challenged leadership and society to do better. This memorial lecture is not only to honour his memory but also to inspire a new generation of scholars to follow in his footsteps,” Adeyemo stated.

The Chairman of the occasion, Dr. Olorunnimbe Mamora, a former senator and seasoned public servant, commended Lead City University for hosting the event, describing Olukotun as “a scholar who combined academic brilliance with practical engagement in national discourse.”

The Registrar of Lead City University, Dr. Ayebola Ayeni, emphasised the university’s commitment to intellectual excellence, noting that “the choice of Prof. Toyin Falola as guest lecturer reflects the high intellectual standards the university upholds.”

The Chairperson of the Organising Committee, Dr. Igho Fayomi, encouraged both students and the general public to attend physically or join via Zoom, saying, “This lecture is a valuable opportunity to reflect on the life of a man who left an indelible mark on Nigeria’s intellectual and political space.”