At least three cases involving Nigerians claiming to have lost their manhood (penis) to suspected cultists are currently in the news. But they have not received prominence like that of the gang rape of a young woman in Abia State that was recorded and posted on the internet by the same criminal gang.
In a way, the cases are related: each is a violation of the sacred temple of mankind. And, in a metaphorical sense, we should not forget the constant rape – and snatching of the manhood – of millions of Nigerians by other members of the occult. I will separate facts from fiction, but let’s understand that the crime of rape is now rampant. We either face the criminals squarely or people will regard it as a harmless way of life.
The current cases in brief: (1) Saminu Ibrahim, a journalist, had collected his money from a bank in Gusau, Zamfara State, and was leaving the bank’s premises when the bank workers came in hot pursuit. Idowu Olatunji (maybe the cashier that paid him) had raised the alarm over the disappearance of his manhood after Ibrahim had touched him. Policemen attached to the bank saved the day for Ibrahim, for a crowd had gathered to kill him.
(2) At the Federal Polytechnic, Bida, Niger State, a final-year student showed a young woman the way to the place post-UTME candidates were being screened in the polytechnic. When the grateful UTME candidate was leaving, they shook hands. A few minutes later, he “discovered” that his manhood was missing and alerted other people around him. After her arrest, the suspect “confessed” that she was sent by her masters and that the penis could no longer be restored. The polytechnic has been shut down following students’ protest against the handing over of the suspect to the police.
(3) I was driving through a market in Abuja, penultimate Tuesday, when I saw a burning car by the roadside. Many people surrounded it. Minutes later, I met a trader in the market who told me that the car belonged to a suspected penis snatcher. The victim (Tochukwu) had, the day before, been touched by the suspect (Francis) after discussing business with him. Tochukwu felt uneasy soon after. So, that night, he invited his fiancĂ©e to his home, but his manhood failed to perform. He reported to fellow traders on that Tuesday morning. Francis was summoned and questioned until he “confessed” that he did it. Tochukwu, his relations and friends pleaded with the suspect to restore his manhood. Francis said it would have been possible to restore it within three hours of its snatching, but regretted that he had sent the manhood to his occult kingdom. It was then that the irate mob descended on him, his shop and his car. Armed policemen rescued him alive.
Each of these tales sounds real. Unfortunately, I can’t confirm any. The trader who told me the third tale claimed he was told by someone else who was present when Francis “confessed” that the victim’s penis had been despatched perhaps to the witches’ coven. A week later, I read in a national daily that Tochukwu and others that attacked Francis had been charged to court for “inciting disturbance, mischief by fire and defamation of character”. In the course of investigation, according to the story, Tochukwu was taken to a general hospital where it was confirmed that his manhood was functioning. Similarly, the police in Zamfara have cleared Ibrahim. A medical examination conducted twice on complainant Olatunji confirmed that his manhood was intact and functioning. Ibrahim has gone to court to seek redress. As to the young woman captured at Bida Poly, I wish her good luck. Five other students have reported that their male organs were either missing or not responding to stimuli.
What do I make of all these? Well, I started hearing tales of missing manhood as far back as I can remember – perhaps in 1974. On meeting strangers at the village stream or shaking hands inside a bus in the city, you were advised to put hands through the pocket to check whether it was still intact. You would not pick a coin that was not yours on the road; you could turn a tortoise or a goat. If you ate certain fruit offered by a stranger, you would disappear with him. Accidents during the “-ember” months were usually attributed to cultists working to fill their blood banks.
We ought to have grown above such hoaxes in the 21st century. But the incidence has been rising instead – usually in the “-ember” months. Does this not say something about our education system and our level of development? Why are these manhood snatchers not found in Europe, America or Asia? I’ve not heard about them in Ghana, Cameroon or even Chad!
While I agree that evil people – with occult powers – abound in this country, I know that their powers are limited. If they had the powers ascribed to them, we would have been a nation of strange people: men without testes, women without breasts, hunchback farms, witches’ colonies.
Is it not strange that, despite all the religious houses and clerics found in every corner of Nigeria, people still believe that evil powers can be used so easily? No, those tales are not true. So, next time somebody raises the alarm about missing manhood, he should be ignored or even scolded. Such false alarm could make a mob kill an innocent man. Investigations should always precede every action, and confessions should not be extracted under duress. Otherwise, an evil person can also set a mob against an innocent person by shouting, “He has snatched my manhood!” or “Thief! Thief!” or “Robber! Robber!” Lawlessness has no place in a civilised society.
I would be telling lies if I denied that occult people roam everywhere. News of people captured with fresh human heads, women’s breasts and infants’ skulls is all too familiar. Often, I believe, the culprits go scot-free after the initial arrest and detention by agents of the law. And the reason is not far-fetched: occult people are holding most levers of power in this country. Their members include top police and army officers, judges and politicians in the executive and the legislative arms of government. It is for fear that criminals caught with human parts won’t get justice that mobs prefer to kill them on the spot. Even then, I still don’t recommend any form of jungle justice. Nothing done in anger is ever right. It is better for 100 ritual killers to escape justice than for one innocent woman branded as a witch to get killed.
I know that secrecy is a weapon often used by 419 fraudsters. The victim is asked to take an oath to never disclose the “business” being discussed. Those who claim missing manhood, I believe, play the same game. They know that the male organ lies in the most secret place, and they won’t be asked to undress in public. Or, why are eyes, hands, breasts and ears that are visible not snatched? Cultists, according to the legend, use them too for rituals. If they could snatch human parts by magical powers so easily, they wouldn’t be robbing graves or murdering people at odd hours and places.
The poor should learn to love one another and never allow themselves to be used against fellow poor. I’ve not seen mobs attacking those that are actually robbing millions of their manhood and their whole life. Unknown to the ignorant, the billionaires among us have been raping, and stealing from, the poor – directly or indirectly. They have destroyed schools so that many continue to revel in ignorance – ignorance that makes them believe that manhood could get snatched or that magic could be used to cure typhoid fever and cancer. They have destroyed jobs and impoverished 140 million Nigerians who will continue to live in ignorance. With their ill-gotten wealth, they have lured others people’s daughters and sisters into prosititution. Obviously, most of these oppressors belong to the occult; perhaps they have been sending their junior co-members to search for manhood!