Most pastors secretly consult, get powers from native doctors – Chief Priest

By Julie Sylvia

Igwe Onyeachonam Ovomba, the chief priest of Iyioji Nine, a dreaded deity in the Nando community of Anambra East local government area in Anambra state, says most signs and wonders performing clergymen are secret idol worshippers and, indeed, obtain their powers from native doctors.

Ovomba, who goes by the moniker, Udenegbaona, made the startling revelation while speaking during the 2022 edition of the Onwa-nge Festival, a traditional annual feast for spiritual invocation of bountiful harvest.

According to Udenegbaona, over 90 per cent of Christians also perform traditional sacrifices in secrecy. “Their going to church is mere eye service. They are deceiving themselves by hiding their true identity because they come to us, native doctors for patronage and protection,” he said.

He argued that the only reason many don’t want to openly identify with traditional religion was because they might lose their members or get seen as the hypocrites they are. According to him, there is light in African traditional religion.

“God is also there (in African traditional religion), because if God or light is not in the traditional religion, I, the chief priest, Nwanmadu Nwanmuo, Udenegbaona, would have been greater than the whole world. Rather, most of the chief priests are wretched but pray for the poor for them to become rich.”

“On the other hand, while the kind of money and property that most of these Christian men of God acquire are enough to take care of their congregation, they don’t help people with their wealth. They live fake life.

“Some of the traditional chief priests don’t own even a bicycle or decent house, when compared with that of Christian religious leaders. This is what a sensible person should learn from traditional religion. We don’t extort the poor to become rich.”

“Those Christians that say that tradition is gradually fading don’t want to tell themselves the truth. Indeed, it is now that traditional religion has become popular and effective and, because of its efficacy, almost all Christians have returned to traditional religion.”

On how to know native doctors that have genuine commitment for the religious practice, Ovomba said that it is by their uprightness in practice and the fruitfulness of their prayers.” Those people without a call succeed because the charm they get from traditional religion practitioners work in their favour. If you have a call, you must try to follow the directives of the God that called you, but if you do not and you are doing it as you like, you will still have money because you are not under anybody’s directives or obligation. Nothing will disturb you if you derail.”

He, however, admitted that “anybody that is practising and doesn’t know that it is the Lord that has the whole world doesn’t know himself. If you don’t know God, you don’t know yourself. Anything in this world, God knows about it, including the incessant killings going on in Nigeria of today.”

The traditional priest recalled that, “when former President Goodluck Jonathan was on seat people were complaining, saying he was a woman. It looked like God, then, asked (Nigerian) people if they wanted a man and they answered ‘yes’ and God brought President Muhammadu Buhari and they are now crying. It is the Lord that has the power; we are the instruments; nothing works without God. It is God that we kneel for.”

“I heard from our fathers that we worship God, not arusi. None of the Christians has power except those with a call. At the time of TB Joshua, he was doing a lot of miracles. If he was that powerful, he would have done a miracle in his grave.”

Igwe Onyeachonam advocated for trade by barter as it was in the earlier days, adding that money is the root cause of all the crimes being perpetrated in the country presently. “If we start trade by barter, let every church and the politicians denounce money. You will see that things will be better. All these killings will stop. The killings are all about rituals and secret cults. It is all backfiring as nemesis,” Udenegbaona revealed.