Ex-member recounts that demand to sacrifice his first son made him quit
confraternity
His desperation to acquire wealth pushed him to join the Ogboni confraternity
but 15 years after his initiation into the cult, Chris Obi realized he could
only get what he wanted so badly if he surrenders that which is dear to him,
his first son.
Now 54 years old, Obi who is based in Onitsha, Anambra State is bitter that he
has lost 15 of his early years in search of wealth where nothing is given free.
His decision to quit the secret society has not helped as he claimed that
leaders of the group have been all out to destroy him.
Not ready to keep sealed lips, Obi, who was once a machine operator with a firm
in Onitsha before turning to merchandise, told Saturday Sun that sweet story of
wealth by his friends who are members of the group encouraged him to stake all
he has to join.
According to him: “I joined Ogboni because I wanted to be very rich. I was
deceived by friends. But I was in it for 15 years without getting any riches. I
was only dining with the high and mighty. They were only feeding me. Whenever
we go for meetings, which we call club meetings, I used to eat sumptuous meals
and drink so much. That would make me happy but once I come back home, I became
sad because I was still poor and couldn’t feed my family.
“Before I was accepted to join the society, I was registered. I even paid a
registration fee. It was about N75,000 that I paid before they gave me a form
to fill. I was asked to supply some personal information in the form. Such
information included the names of my first born, my wife, my relatives and my
age, among others.
“We were also asked to pay for certain things such as gadgets, they cost
N30,000 but I paid only N20,000. I got the money from my contribution in the
firm I was working before I joined the society.
After filling the form, they gave a date for my initiation into the society.”
While giving account of his initiation into the cult, Obi said he was given a
blood-like liquid in a calabash to drink as a mark that he would keep the
secrets of the society, which he is now determined to break and damn the
consequence. “At the initiation venue, they provided a coffin, covered with a
black cloth. I was also given a ring and an handkerchief among other things I
can’t mention here. There were traditional priests who presided over the initiation.
I remember the priests shouted some incantations which I later understood were
warnings for me that what I was joining wasn’t a child’s play.
After that, they put the ring into my hand and said that it was a covenant that
demands that I keep sealed lips about the activities of the society. I was also
given some liquid in a calabash to drink; the liquid looked like red wine, but
it was very red. I cannot really say how it tasted. We were many that were
initiated that day and we all drank the red liquid.
When we had taken the drink, we were congratulated and welcomed to the society
with huge promises that we would get all the riches and the powers that we
desired. I went home that day feeling on top of the world. I was excited that I
have found a smart way to be come very rich”, he stated.
To reassure himself that he was on the right path, Obi would use some of the
magical powers given him through rings and handkerchief. He explained: “The
ring that I was given could be described as both magical and fetish. I was told
that I could just disappear in the face of danger if I wore it. But it didn’t
make me to disappear at any time. Actually, I never got myself into trouble
with anyone because all I wanted was to be very rich.
So, I did my best to stay out of trouble. The handkerchief did remarkable
things for me. With it I hypnotized people to do my bidding. For instance, I
was able to pay far less than what I bought from sellers whenever I went to the
market to buy things. I could buy things and ensure my bags are full with
foodstuffs and other things with just N1,000 and I even get some balance from
the sellers. The handkerchief enables me to cheat sellers by getting them
hypnotized.”
Not satisfied with those little benefits from the magical powers given him,
frustration began to set in when he could not understand what he would do to
get the real wealth he needed. According to him, “there was no time I was
categorically told how to make wealth or get riches but each time I asked them
when it would happen, they would tell me that I should just continue to attend
the meetings and make effort to get deeper and know more about the society.
They said that in due course I would find out how to get riches. So, I carried
on with them, with the hope that one day, they would reveal to me how to become
rich indeed.”
The beginning of the end, however, began when, on further inquiry on how to get
the desired wealth, he was told that he had to sacrifice his first son. In his
narration, he said “something happened about six years ago which made me have a
second thought about the society and desired to take a walk from them.
I ran into a member of the society with whom I had been initiated the same
time. That means we were at the same level in the society. I knew the man to be
as wretched as a church rat before our initiation. But when I met him in 2008,
he had become stupendously rich. He rode a very expensive car and I envied him.
He took me to a big restaurant in Onitsha metropolis and there he bought me
sumptuous meal and drinks worth thousands of naira. When we got talking, he
told me about how rich he had become. He said that he had built a business
empire for himself and dealt with white men in Hong Kong. The man took me to
one of his firms where he prints many fake documents for several business
transactions. He said he wouldn’t get caught because of his connections with
the society.
When I asked him how he struck it rich, that was when he dropped the bombshell,
saying that he had to sacrifice his first son. He said that thereafter, he
continued to kill his other unborn male children from his wife. He said that
whenever his wife was pregnant and was about to give birth, he would find out
the sex of the baby and if it turns out to be a male, he would use his powers
to kill the baby before it would be delivered.”
The confession of his colleague dropped the scale from his eyes and then it
dawned on him that he needed to take a decision to proceed and do likewise or
take a walk. He eventually chose the latter.
According to Obi: “I was shocked at what he said. He added that he had built
houses both at Onitsha and his village. His confession opened my eyes to what I
was supposed to do to get riches. It became crystal clear to me that the
society expects me to also sacrifice my first son to become rich and I
shuddered at the thought of it. I love my family so much. They are all I have
in the world.
In fact, I wanted to get rich quick so as to give my family the best in life
but it was the same family that was being demanded as sacrifice for the riches.
Suddenly, I began to realize that I was foolish to have accepted to join the
cult for riches. I regretted heeding the advice from my friends who lured me
into it. My friends, particularly the one who was the general secretary of the
society, had deceived me with great promises of wealth, they had even told me
that they saw my father’s name in the Ogboni membership list when they were
checking the names of past late members. But the scales fell off my eyes with
what I discovered from my colleague who sacrificed his children.”
From that point, he chose to draw the battle line with a group he had served
for 15 years. “Suddenly, I began to hate the society. I couldn’t make myself to
attend the meetings again and I began to burn the fetish items they gave me.
After a few days that they didn’t see me at the meetings, they sent that my
rich friend to me.
He came to ask why I was being absent at meetings and I told him that if the
only way for me to get riches is to sacrifice my family, I was opting out. He
looked angry when I told him that and warned me against the consequences of
quitting the society. A series of persuasions and threats followed for sometime
so as to make me change my mind but I stood my ground and drew closer to God
and was praying fervently.
After a while, I thought they would let me be. But they told me through their
delegation that they wanted to leave me because I had not got riches through
them. They added that my soul would have been demanded by them if I had got
riches before quitting. That means they would have killed me and captured my
soul as punishment.”
He said at the point he was almost relaxing it was all over, the cult struck.
“I thought they had gone out of my life forever when they said this, little did
I know that they were actually planning to get rid of me gradually. Later that
year, 2008, I had a minor accident and it got my legs swollen. And the legs
continued to swell the more.
It defied all kinds of treatment I sought for it. In fact, I attended many churches
for a miracle of healing. I paid tithes, huge offerings and even bought things
for the churches but nothing happened until last year January when I attended
the crusade of the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries at Mgbidi where
I eventually got my deliverance from their attack”, Obi stated with a sigh of
relief.
-The Sun
