The return of Okija Dreaded shrine, resurrects 15 years after causing uproar

IT was 15 years ago when the alarm bell rang across the world over the happenings at a shrine in Okija, a sleepy community in Ihiala Local Government Area, Anambra State.

Known as ‘Ogwugwu akpu ‘, the killings associated with the shrine and other untoward events in the place gave birth to the discovery of others like ‘Ogwugwu Isulo’.

The sleepy community became popular over night for the wrong reasons, as popular politicians flooded Okija for in search of power and for oath taking.

Like many communities in Igbo land, Okija harbours many shrines. But the most popular was the Ogwugwu Akpu Shrine located on the bank of Ulasi River. It is located in Ubahuezike, which is one of the 30 villages in Okija and lies at the end of the village.

In the olden days, stories had it that people who committed atrocities were dumped in the shrine when they died. People who died from such diseases as smallpox and leprosy were also dumped in the shrine; the reason the entire shrine was littered with relics of dead bodies.

About 19 years ago, Ogwugwu Akpu assumed a new status when some educated young people in the village decided to become priests of the Ogwugwu, thereby bringing some ingenuity into its worship.

That was how Okija became famous as people from various parts of Igbo land and beyond came there to administer oaths on their people suspected to have committed one offence or the other. Before then, Ogwugwu Akpu was just like any other shrine in Igbo land which served as checks against impunity and man’s inhumanity to man.

For instance, people who were aggrieved over the manner they were treated in business deals, land disputes, among other issues, took their cases to the Ogwugwu shrine.

Despite the destruction of the shrines in the area 15 years ago, new ones have sprung up and the business has started booming again. Some of the new shrines include the Ulasi Okija shrine, Ogwugwu Mmili Umuohi and Ogwugwu Ajani shrine.

The existence of these shrines, The Nation gathered, never affected the spread of Christianity in  Okija. The Nation gathered in the area that Okija community had produced more than 35 Catholic and Anglican priests.

Not only that, the community boasts about 10 parishes of such churches and three archdeaconries. Apart from the shrines scattered all over Okija, the community also hosts the country’s first private faith-based university, the Madonna University.

The emergence of the new shrine in addition to the old ones has brought back old memories about Okija.

Speaking with The Nation, one of the community leaders and big time farmer in Okija, Hon C.Y. Obi, said the shrines had returned in full force.

He maintained that the people of Okija are not known or associated with killing, adding that dumping of human heads in the shrines painted the community black in the eyes of the world.

Obi, who is also into politics in the state, said: “I am from Okija and we are proud of our community, no matter what people think or believe.

“The priests in charge of those shrines never killed anyone. Rather those who believed in those deities, who came to swore, would go to their places and die while their bodies would be brought to the shrine in the belief that they were killed by the deity.

“Some of us from the place don’t believe or go near the shrines. But those who believed in them were succumbing to the threats of the deities out of fear.”

Mrs Bridget Obi, another indigene of Okija and one time Commissioner for Women’s Affairs in Anambra State, said she does not believe in the shrine.

She said: “I believe they (priests) went the extra mile to use that place for 419 (fraudulent purposes) to extort money and deceive people.

“What happened there was not the culture of our people. Traditional religion is not what we saw in that place. What we saw was just a barbaric act.

“I don’t think the society today needs such extremes. It was actually due to lack of justice that made people to go to that extent. If the courts are working, if the judiciary is working, if justice is obtained in the right ways, the police and army are doing what they are supposed to do, even the community does the right things, there wouldn’t be any reason for this kind of archaic form of justice.”

Obi maintained that the so-called Okija shrine justice was jungle justice, adding: “I don’t believe in it.”

Another citizen of Okija, Comrade Chris Okwuosa, told The Nation that the shrine should serve as a tourist centre in Nigeria.

He said he had not visited any of the shrines because he does not believe in them, adding that the people of Okija should be paid compensation for being given a bad image by the government.

Okwuosa said the children of Farmers Club, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Okija, organised a mass burial for those whose heads were thrown into the shrines. And the community ordered that henceforth, the shrines should not be littered with dead bodies, adding that it would be difficult to erase that stigma of killing on their community.

He described it as the major challenge facing the people of Okija today world over, saying that tagging the people of Okija as killers, which he said is not true, has remained a big dent on their image.

However, Okwuosa, said the place has come alive again but observed that patronage appeared to have dropped after the saga.

It was not clear at what point the operators of the shrine began to demand for the corpses of those allegedly killed by Ogwugwu. But it became common knowledge that once somebody suspected to have been killed by Ogwugwu was buried in his compound, the priests of the deity would go to demand for the corpse the same day it was buried and the body would be exhumed and taken to the Ogwugwu forest and kept forever.

The frightening sight is usually shown to those who appear before the deity after they were summoned, and this further instills fear in such people, with the result that they would do the bidding of the priests to stay alive.

In August 2004, a petition was written to the then Inspector General of Police, the late Mr. Tafa Balogun, over the happenings at Okija, and the IGP ordered the then Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Felix Ogbaudu, to investigate.

The disagreement among the operators later led to the arrest of two chief priests and 30 other persons suspected to be agents of Ogwugwu shrine and were taken to Abuja for questioning.

The police also found 10 registers containing names of prominent politicians, businessmen, apprentices, among others, from most parts of Igbo land and beyond, though the identities of those whose names were in the register were not made public till date.

One of the current chief priests of Ogwugwu, who asked not to be named, accused the media of blowing what happened at the shrine out of proportion.

He said: “This deity is not associated with killing people, rituals or any form of death. Instead, the shrine’s main objective is to settle differences amicably and, should such move fail to resolve the crisis, the ultimate punishment is meted out.

“The shrine seeks to create solution to problems, especially for people who have been cheated in one way or the other.” According to him, even white men visit the shrine to summon their Nigerian business partners who they claim cheated them in business.

After the police raid of the shrine in 2004, it was as if the popularity of the shrine had waned, although recent happenings indicate that some people still believe in it, especially non-indigenes of Okija.

As at today, Okija shrine has lost the glory it acquired through politicians who patronised it in the past.

One of the priests, Mr. Ofokansi Okoli, said their customers no longer come, adding that the last customer he got came many months ago.

Another priest, Mr. Ejionu Ilodinobi, said for now, the Ogwugwu-akpu Shrine in Okija and others are  in limbo, adding, “whether they will still bounce back is what we don’t know .

But C.Y. Obi and Chris Okwuosa, believe the shrines are back in full force and are bubbling again.

For Obi, “people have freedom of worship. Those operating in those shrines believe in them while we believe in our own God, and those people who visit the shrines also believe they always get justice.

“People are living their lives. The forest is there. It has grown again, but people still go there.

“The shrine is still there. Of course, shrines don’t die. It is their own god. Itis part of our society.”

But Okwuosa said: “No more dropping of dead bodies in the forest. We have stopped that.

“The community warned that if any corpse was seen on the surface of the shrine, they would be sanctioned, and they agreed on that, and it is working.”

For ex-commissioner Obi, “the lessons we’ve learnt is that there are lots of anomalies in the system. “People see it and don’t raise their voices. If you don’t, it could also swallow you. When there is an outcry and there are investigations, it should be followed up to a logical conclusion.

“Okija shouldn’t be associated with shrine. Shrine is a thing that is everywhere. That one was an extreme case. I would say the Okija saga was a blessing in disguise.”

Give and take, Okija shrines are back and multiplying. But patronage has drastically reduced.