The heartrending murder of 22-year-old Bamise Ayanwole in Lagos is sadly just another addition to a continually lengthening list of ritual murders for money in Nigeria.
It’s the consequence of Nigeria’s cripplingly regressive, atavistic but sadly enduring traditions.
The idea that you can magically make money through the body parts of a dead human has to rank among the stupidest and most crack-brained beliefs in the world.
Regrettably, there are millions of highly credentialed, low-IQ idiots in Nigeria who believe in the efficacy of money rituals, who believe you can make something out of nothing. That’s why tragedies like this will endure.
Anyone who believes that ritual sacrifice with human body parts can produce money is a potential murderer. Stay away from such a person.
From my observations, neither educational attainment nor social class are reliable indicators of the kinds of people who subscribe to this irrational absurdity.
Look, the naira is printed by the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting (NSPM), PLC. Every naira note that is printed there has a serial number and is scrupulously accounted for.
It’s impossible to get the NSPM to magically print and teleport wads of naira notes to you because you murdered a human and used their body parts for a so-called money ritual!
It’s sad that something this basic has be said, but it’s even sadder that many people don’t believe this in the 21st century.
The witch doctors who tell people to bring the body parts of murdered people to make them rich are often some of the most wretched people you can find on earth.
If money rituals were real, they would be wealthy, and they won’t let anyone in on the secret.
To rephrase Maya Angelou, be careful of a perpetually naked person who tells you he can give you a shirt. If he had a shirt, he won’t be naked.
The solution to the continuing menace of ritual murders in Nigeria is to liberate the minds of our people from stupid, backward, unproductive and murderous superstitions.
Until we do that, Bamise’s death will be in vain because, as sure as tomorrow’s date, more innocent people will be murdered for money that will never come.
