OBOSI: IN FIRM GRIP OF CULTIC KILLINGS

Who doesn’t know the town called Obosi? It is an ancient town in Anambra State, the origin of which dates back to hundreds of years ago. It boasts of individuals who reached the acme of their careers and achieved global recognitions in their respective endeavours.
In this regard, my mind readily thinks of Chief Emeka Anyaoku, the former Secretary General of the Commonwealth; Chief Dan Chuke, a former federal minister, and Chief Mike Ajegbo, a one-time senator in Nigeria. The late Chief Chimezie Ikeazor, a legal luminary, and founder of the free legal aid, hailed from Obosi; and Chief Osita Chidoka of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) fame. Chief Chidoka would later become the Minister of Aviation.

But, lately, Obosi town, which used to be a haven of cultural festivals and oasis of peace, has morphed to a killing field. It is an incontrovertible fact that the erosion of family values among Nigerians is the reason we have youths, who have become cultists. And, sadly, they have turned the town of Obosi to a hotbed of cultic activities. Now, many Obosi youths wield guns and romanticize violence instead of embracing education, and clutching books. Their membership of deadly cult groups boost their egos. And the trademark of those cult groups is engaging in violent acts and the shedding of people’s blood. The battle for supremacy among the cult groups has caused the deaths of innumerable young people in Obosi town.

The anarchic situation, which reigns in Obosi, Anambra State, is symptomatic of Nigeria’s malaise, and represents our country’s descent into a banana and/or failed state. Obosi town is now sucked into a maelstrom of cult killings. And the control of a large swathe of Obosi land by marauding cultists highlights the ineffectiveness of the security agents to secure human lives in Obosi.
Last year, a great number of Obosi young men were shot dead during rival cult fights. Those who died in the cult wars were young men in the prime of their lives. To stem the tide of the cult killings and restore normalcy to the town, the President General of Obosi Development Union (ODU), Mr. Ikechukwu Okolo, waded into the matter. He was earnest in his quest to find a lasting solution to the cult menace in Obosi.

A meeting was convened for the discussion of the vexed matter. During the meeting, tension arose among the participants, and their tempers flared. So, the president general of ODU, the late Mr. Ikechukwu Okolo, left the venue of the meeting, angrily. While driving back to his office, he was ambushed by gunmen and shot dead. His body which was mauled and riddled with bullets slumped on the seat of his car. His death sent shockwaves across the town and roused the traditional ruler of Obosi, Igwe Chidubem Iweka 111 to action. His death, no doubt, was one death too many. Igwe Iweka, who claimed to know the killers of Mr. Ikechukwu Okolo, has forwarded the names of the alleged killers of Mr. Ikechukwu Okolo to the state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo. In his response, Professor Soludo expressed his resolve to extirpate cult killings in Obosi and bring the killers of the ODU president, Mr. Okolo, to justice.

But with the passage of time, it has dawned on us that governor Chukwuma Soludo has, apparently, reneged on his promise to rid Obosi of cult killings. The spate of cult killings has intensified rather than abated in Obosi. No day passes without some suspected cultists being killed in the town in rival cult wars. So death of young people by gunshot has become a daily occurrence in Obosi. As a result, many young ladies, who are in their twenties, have become widows, prematurely.

To make matters worse, a murderous cult leader, who is not a native of Obosi, has written a letter to the Obosi people, threatening to invade the town and kill males whose ages are between 15 years and 50 years. The notorious cultist whose sanguinary proclivity is insatiable wants to avenge the death of an Obosi-born cultist who belonged to the same cult group as he belongs.
Since he issued the death threat to Obosi people, an eerie atmosphere of fear has pervaded and enveloped Obosi. And, not a few young men, who hail from Obosi, have left the town. Again, now, whenever a few natives of Obosi town gather, they will converse in sotto voce and hushed voices for fear of being heard condemning the cultists. Fear walks on all fours in the town. So we urge Governor Chukwuma Soludo to do the needful and stem the tide of bloodletting in Obosi.

Harris Nnamdi,
Obosi, Anambra State