It is sad that some barbaric African traditional rites are still being enforced in some modern African societies.
Poor and innocent people have been at the receiving end over the centuries and unfortunately, while other modern societies are overcoming the trend, some African societies are bent on retaining the traditions that have brought tears, fear, hardship and reproach to many.
In the 21st century, issues relating with tradition and religion are two ways drive operating on two parallel lines. Mrs. Sariyu Adebisi, relay her experience with culture and tradition.
“I am Mrs. Sariyu Adebisi, popularly known as Iya Pupa(Yellow mama)age 72 years blessed with two sons only of which Adebisi Moshood is the youngest,” she said.
Continuing, the septuagenarian has raised alarm that, her step son is threatening to kill Moshood and his immediate family over his refusal to allow them perform traditional rites on one of his daughters.
According to her, “The practice they claimed to be traditionally acceptable in our family is to maintain the chieftaincy title being held by the family in their village.”
Adebisi who once granted a newspaper interview on the case gave account of what led to the threats she is currently facing. According to her, the step son (name withheld), was crowned as a chief in which to perfect the coronation, a virgin daughter from same lineage must be surrendered to perform rituals for the coronation to hold. She further said her husband had refused to accept the chieftaincy title before his demise.
“The act is in contradiction to the present belief of Moshood which he didn’t hide from them on several occasions but they keep mounting pressure on him to succumb to their will,” she explained.
“According to Mrs. Sariyu Adebisi, her son’s had escaped several attacks from his half-brother. These infuriated Moshood so much that he couldn’t bear it, hence, helpless as efforts to get external attention could not yield any good as they claimed it to be a family matter. Moshood’s neighbors also confirmed the incident.
The spiritual attachment to this rite by the family has made it impossible to convince them while some traditionalists believe that it will bring loss of cultural identity and mostly exclusion of the family from the chieftaincy line in their village of origin. She said.
Read also: One dead, another trapped in Aba twin building collapse
Speaking further, she said her son – Moshood was afraid of challenging the matter further because of the personality involved and he was scared of being harmed further by the group members. “Many times, fetish objects were dropped into his compound without any one arrested,” she complained.
Adebisi further said, “As an old woman, I noticed that my son has been constantly living in fear of a possible abduction of his daughters, torture and even death.
“The children belong to this family and I cannot change that, but I vowed to support my son not to surrender his daughters for any family rites,” she insists.
This is what many families are passing through in Nigeria today. A lot of people from poor families without any voice have died in similar circumstances while others live in perpetual agony, fear and frustration.
“As my granddaughters were fingered to perform mandatory traditional rites in total fear and disillusionment with the society leaving Moshood to his fate, he decided to flee the country to save his life, wife and that of his children from such life threatening practice,” she said.
Another family source who corroborated this said, that Moshood is out of the country is not an end to the story as the same family members are using all means to bring him back home alongside with the children, just for the rites to be concluded.
Meanwhile, In December 2018, all the properties willed to the family side of Moshood were revoked and withdrawn from their mother by the family members who openly told her that she and her grandchildren are not entitled to any will and that the properties belong to the family of which she and her son are not part of again.
In her response, she said, “Enough to their wicked acts and damages done to our existence. It is pitiable enough to be a widow, not to talk of taking over my late husband’s properties from me. I was forced out of my shop where I am doing petty trading to keep myself physically fit and banned me from going to the cocoa and palm oil farm already willed to my children. I plead they should not subject myself and my son’s family to further hardship,” Mrs. Adebisi pleads.
According to a close relation, Elder Arulogun who spoke to our correspondent, he explained that Moshood’s disappearance with his family members has become a serious worry to the family members who want his children back for the said traditional rites performance.
Arulogun said, “Moshood fled the country because his daughters were meant to go through traditional rites to appease the gods for the chieftaincy title the family is a custodian of. They threatened to kill them because it is a taboo already as they have refused to succumb to their desires,” he said.
