In recent years, idol worship and the emergence of accidental native doctors, some of them with questionable wealth, gained currency in Igbo land. Some even became prominent socialites who dine and wine with the high and mighty in society.

With time, they were linked to many evil activities such as kidnapping, armed robbery and money rituals. These criminal acts became very common in Igbo land to the extent that the devastating insecurity in the South East region is also linked to it, as some of them were accused of preparing charms for the criminal elements tormenting the region.

Though state governments in the region, particularly Anambra and Enugu, are taking some measures to tackle them and restore sanity and reverse the ugly situation, a bishop, Rt. Rev. Gideon Ilechukwu has indicted church leaders for the problem. Ilechukwu, also a medical doctor, is the Bishop of the Anglican Missionary Congregations (AMC), in the United Kingdom and Europe. He attributed the revival of idol worship in Igbo land to the failure of Christians to live out their faith, particularly their leaders.

Bishop Ilechukwu spoke at St. Barnabas Anglican Church, Ojoto in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, at the 33rd Synod of the Diocese on the Niger.

“We are the reason idol worship is resurging because of our way of life. If people saw the light in us, if our lives truly reflected Christ, they would not return to paganism. If all of us truly preached Christ and lived accordingly, there would be no rush back to idol worship in Igbo land.”

He warned that introducing idols into Igbo communities contradicts Christian beliefs and would bring grave consequences. SEV spoke to and got the views of other church leaders on this.

Churches should not promote bad lifestyle, celebrate people of questionable wealth and character -Archbishop Opoko.

The Methodist Bishop of Umuahia Dioceses, Archbishop Raphael Opoko, in his view aligned with Rev. Ilechukwu’s position. According to Archbishop Opoko, the failure of church leaders to live exemplary lives worthy of their faith and to speak out against unwholesome practices by some of their members with questionable characters, rather emboldens them to continue in their bad path.

He said: “I totally agree with him that pastors are to blame for this sad development. We are keeping quiet instead of speaking out against the attitudes of some people who, in their quest for wealth get into so many things.

“When they make their money and come to church we give them awards and make them knights without considering their source of income and the bad image they create for the church. This projects the church as promoters of bad lifestyle.

“The church is now celebrating anybody that has money including politicians that have money without asking questions. When a civil servant who receives salary comes to church to make huge donations and they are given awards without asking questions, politicians who had nothing before going into politics but become wealthier than a state after four years.”

Archbishop Opoko called on clerics to speak out against evil and stop pampering members of the church that have questionable characters.

“Silence in the face of this evil is ungodly. We should not celebrate materialism. We should stop celebrating people with questionable characters because of their huge donations”.

Also speaking on the issue, the co-chair of Interfaith Peace and Justice Forum, Bishop Sunday Onuoha, urged the church to stop conferring awards to people with questionable characters.

Bishop Onuoha blamed clerics for giving awards to people whose source of income is questionable. “The church must stop celebrating men of questionable character including not giving them church awards”, Bishop Onuoha said.

A Holy Ghost Priest in Iziogo, Abakaliki council of Ebonyi State, Rev. Fr. Jeremiah Okwadike also attributed the thriving of idol worship in Igbo land and beyond to bad governance which leads to hunger and suffering for the poor masses.

He said that in as much as some church leaders are not living up to expectation by doing what they preach, they are not the major cause of the return of idol worship in Igbo land. He rather blamed bad governance from political leaders.

Okwadike said that the hardship in the land due to lack of jobs and good livelihood made some youths who want to meet up by all means to return to idol worship because they have been brainwashed that if they sacrifice ram or goat to their forefathers or their gods their fortunes would change.

He also attributed it to impatience on the part of the youths who falsely believe that God doesn’t answer prayer fast as they want to be on the fast lane and get rich quick by all means.

“Most times we take idol worship and rituals to be same; no, but they go hand in hand. Some of the young boys are not idol worshipers but ritualists who want quick money; they want to be rich fast and ready to do any sacrifice or ritual to get the money.

“It is true that some of our church leaders are no more preaching salvation but prosperity, buying private jets and latest cars while their members go hungry. Some of these church leaders allegedly get their powers from idol priests who give them charms to attract members to their churches.

“The way they worship idol now is not the same way our grandfathers and forefathers did. Our forefathers were upright and never committed crimes and atrocities while worshipping their gods. They had to obey the natural laws, customs and traditions. They had recourse to God as Creator of the universe and obeyed commandments of God. But this generation today has different orientation about idol worship; killing human beings to do rituals to make money.

“Some are using church to cover up their crimes and abominable acts. Some are operating their church as native doctors because they want to be rich overnight. I commend some governors who go after some of the so-called native doctors that commit crimes”, Fr. Okwadike stated.

Christian idol worshippers help native doctors to thrive - Pastor Okwuonu

In his contribution, the General Overseer of True God Evangelical Ministry in Anambra State, Pastor Innocent Okwuonu, observed that many Christians indulge in idol worshipping and by so doing, bring God’s curse on their families. He said that it is because of the idol worshipping among Christians that made native doctor business to thrive in Igbo land, noting that they have become very influential, to the extent that people fear swearing to deities more than they fear swearing to the bible.

It was discovered that in many churches in Anambra State, it is common to see heaps of items of traditional worshiping recovered during family deliverance. The worrisome aspect of the situation is that these items were recovered from families that are 100% Christians. More worrisome is also the fact that some of the people return to idol worshipping even after the deliverance.

He said that when a Christian believes that there is generational curse from the ancestral power in his family, there is the tendency for such a Christian to fall prey to idol worshipping. According to Pastor Okwuonu, those mixing Christianity with idol worshipping are destroying themselves.

“When your foundation is destroyed, you will be operating under a curse you don’t even know its source. That is why many people lay their hands on good things, but they do not prosper with them. You cannot fulfill your destiny in life until there is a thorough deliverance in your family. Many people are simply in family bondage”, he said.

He added: “If you look at the background of some families, you discover that most of them are suffering in the areas of marriage, finances, progress, and victory.

“One of the things that make some families to suffer is their belief that they are suffering from generational curse. And with such mindset, Christians from such families can easily fall victim of idol worshipping.”

Celebration of wealth without verifiable source is the problem - Evang. Ukaegbu.

National Secretary of the Church of God Seventh Day, Nigeria, Evangelist Okechukwu Ukaegbu warns that the Igbo must stop celebrating unexplained wealth by people who have no identifiable means of livelihood.

He told SEV that this is the only way to stop the drift to idol worship in the society. He lamented that the Igbo now celebrate and worship wealth which has made the youths to see wealth as the ultimate thing in life.

He said: “The society today worships wealth; anybody who has wealth is worshipped no matter how he acquired it. People now see wealth as the most important thing in life. People have imbibed the new culture of pursuing wealth at all costs. Nothing again matters but wealth.

“So, why won’t people employ all means including idol worship to acquire wealth? People are abandoning the ways of God for evil, and parents and other agents of socialization in the society must share in the blame.

“You can see what is happening in Anambra and other states of the South East zone; ritualism, cultism and those who call themselves native doctors, Okeite, Ezenwanyi and their likes. All these are fueled by the craze to acquire wealth at all costs because the society worships wealth not minding how it comes. People now think they can make it faster in life through idol worship. But it is a deadly route which must be avoided at all costs. Our people must turn a new leaf because this practice does bode well for the Igbo society.”

The Lead Pastor of True Rhema Evangelical Church, Owerri, Imo state, Pastor Joshua Okorie, on his own, said many Christians are more concerned about giving and receiving prophecies, miracles and speaking in tongues than living true to their faith.

He however, submitted that native doctors have not performed better, adding that many of them are swindlers posing as solution agents.

“Many Christians are more interested in prophecies, miracles and speaking in tongues than living the word they preach.

“Christianity is not just a matter of confession, it is a practical thing. Remember how the name ‘Christians’ came about, people saw the way the disciples behaved just like Jesus Christ did, and they called them Christians meaning those who act like Christ.

“Today, how many of us act like Christ. Christians really need to improve and walk the talk in its entirety.

“But then, are the native doctors better? I do not believe so. Many of them are swindlers posing as solution providers.” (Vanguard)