Peoples Daily

• Will conduct own funeral
  
• Says Christian preacher secretly consult him
  
• Why Gowon was angry with him

Former Catholic Mass-server who later converted to African traditional religion, High Priest Osemwegie Ebohon is now a worshipper of the Devil. In this exclusive interview with Osaigbovo Iguobaro in Benin, he bares his mind on why he worships the devil saying he has made up his mind to go to hell.

You were a renowned Catholic now you are neck deep in a traditional religion. What happened?
If you ask me if I believe in God, I will tell you “Yes and No!” I do not know the meaning of the word, God; but if it’s the God that created men and women, popularly referred to as ‘Osanobuwa’– meaning the God of heaven and earth in Bini language, then I will say yes that is if the word creation is a reality. But I do not believe in the story of creation which the Bible tells.
Why?
The reason was that it is very difficult for a mature mind like me to believe. The problem we have today is religion, mine is not excluded. Moreso, a lot of people who parade themselves as men of God are misrepresenting God by arrogating to themselves various titles. Those people are not preaching salvation.
In the 1980’s, a sum of $ 6,000 dollars was reportedly stolen in Vatican City where the Pope lived. I was privileged to feature on a television programme with one late Rev. Uwaifo. I asked him if there were any Ogun or Olokun priest in the Vatican City and his reply was No! So the priests in the holy City should examine themselves.
Are you saying that your religion is the best?
Even Christ himself knows that as a traditionalist, my name ‘Osemwegie Ebohon’ is known. I’m a High Priest and the name ‘High priest is boldly written in the bible.
One day, a Christian pastor was passing in front of my house in Odenede Steet, off Alohan Street/Dumez road in Benin City. The man was holding a bible in one hand and a bell in the other. He started shouting my name, ‘Osemwegie Ebohon’ Jesus is calling you’. I became interested that even Jesus recognizes me either in heaven or on earth. However, I told him to allow me to investigate him because God ought to send a renowned servant of his as a messenger to come and meet me instead of sending a man in rags like him. That was what I told him. I asked him why he didn’t send the Pope but the man insisted and continued shouting that God had a message for me. He said God told him to tell me that I will leave my religion and serve him. I told him I will give him 12 strokes of the cane because he had trespassed. After that he left.
I have made up my mind about who and what I want to serve and that does not include Christ. Even if everyone in Africa or the world converts to Christ, I’d rather be alone because I want to go to hell. Yes I want to go to hell. 15 years before the death of Beko Ransom Kuti, he said a similar thing. I have my reasons why I would love to go to hell.
What are the reasons?
I will tell you. When a thief is tied to stake in Nigeria after death sentence has been passed, ideally, he will be given three options to determine the kind of God he would want to pray to before he is killed. From my own personal experience in life, the condemned prisoners usually prefer to pray and plead with God with the bible though he was a thief. Most of the people who looted the wealth of Nigeria were Christians and I cannot afford to stay under the same roof and worship with them because they will corrupt me. Since many of them said they are going to heaven, then, I’d rather go to hell and stay away from such people.
One day, Prof. Wole Soyinka visited my cultural center some years ago when the BBC did a film on me; before he departed, he wrote on my visitors’ note, ‘I wonder why people like you can afford to stay in a country where truth is a crime’. Also two Reverend Fathers from Oxford University have written their Doctorate thesis on me and my virtues.
It was said that you are already prepared for you own death and funeral.
Yes. Besides, I will sit down some day and supervise my funeral. I have made all the arrangements to tell the spirit world and the living that you can grow above certain things by nature.
Moreso, I am working seriously like I said to bequit the centre including my my late father’s sanctuary for posterity and perhaps that has confirmed what I said earlier that I will preside over my funeral. When I lie on the bed of life, I will ask a medical doctor to pronounce me clinically dead. My burial rites will last for seven days, the ceremony is going to be very inexpensive.
Will it be announced?
Yes, everybody will be there including the Police, journalists, curators, government officials and anybody who wants to come. I know when it is going to be. But we haven’t got to the time yet. The items that are going to be used will be kept in my late father’s room. One of the items is ‘Aro-mie-Iyeke’, meaning your eyes do not see behind.
So you think of the hereafter and death and judgment?
Let me make it clear that I am not afraid of death. I do not want to go to heaven and there is no cause for alarm. From my understanding, there are three major cause of deaths that can take a man. Old age, accident and sickness are the known ones but they are sub-divided into 21 parts. I will go through one of them which is old age; before it will happens, I will bury myself because you can never trust man and if my children attempt to do it the other way by taking my corpse to a church, then I am sorry for them because the church will go up in flame. I’d rather prefer to be buried with a mat in a shallow grave. I do not subscribe to expensive coffin.
In the late 1980’s, late Nnamdi Azikiwe once said that, ‘a time comes in a man’s life when prayers alone can no longer help him’. Therefore when I see some people gather to pray I pity them from the depth of my heart because they do not know what they are doing. I wonder if the God they are making request in his name has gone blind, old or deafened that he can no longer hear because of the way they shout. I respect the Muslims and some Christians very much. They do not shout on their creator or their father. When my father was alive, if I shout at him, it means my end had come.
If you visit my cultural centre on Sunday, you may be deafened by the noise from about six churches that surround my house. What I do not understand is whether they think that the noise could make me join them.
I have gone round the churches and find out that majority of the leaders of the worship centres are hungry illiterates. So, I may be offending my ancestors if I put them out of business. So, if I have the fortune of becoming the President of Nigeria, I will sanitize the church and fix the benchmark for registration on N20 million because it has become a lucrative business in some parts of the country.
What is the meeting point between faith in God and your traditional activities?
There is no meeting point but you could say that there is a partial meeting point because all religions on earth are the same.
Besides, the Ten Commandments in the bible have been existing in Benin kingdom since centuries ago and the same could also be said in so many other African religions. The commandments were in operations in ancient city of Benin before the British brought a bible in one hand and a gun on the other. The story of Benin massacre in 1897 is there to prove me right. If I am a traditional worshiper and I am going about in the street with the crucifix of Christ, then you have to examine my brain.
But you practice idolatry?
Idolatry is not in my religion alone, but in the church and other forms of worship. My worry is that whenever idol is mentioned, Christians think it is applicable to worship of graven images including my humble self, which is a lie. But when you look at the dictionary meaning of idol, you will discover that there is no religion on earth which does not have idol. The White man was bent on wiping out African religion and at the same thing applies to paganism. Paganism is a relative word and if you are a Christian and you do not believe in what I believe in, then you’re a pagan to me and vis-visa.
What is your attitude to the Devil?
Binding and killing the Devil are common phrases used by Christians in most worship centres today; everybody is binding the Devil, yet, they are unable to kill the Devil or stop him from tormenting them. But in African religion, we do not kill Satan or Devil, rather we appeal to him (Devil), not to bring problems or scatter our heads. To give flesh to my summation, look at Job Chapter 3 which is one of the Bible books. It reads, ‘and God sat among his children and among them was Satan..’ I am not the writer of the Bible. Check, if what I just said is true.
In 1994, I had the privilege as the foremost traditional worshipper and native doctor, having been a Catholic Mass-Server, to preach at Holy Cross Cathedral along Mission Road in Benin City. I was invited as guest speaker to talk on burial custom among the Benin which lasted for three hours.
At the end of the lecture, the then Archbishop of Benin Diocese, Bishop Ekpu asked one Rev. Father Theophillus Ewaenseha (retired), to move a vote of thanks. Ewaenseha threw a harmless joke to the congregation. He said ‘if every one of us in this hall can practice Christianity the way Ebohon is practising traditional religion, then there will be no problem in this country’. The congregation was quite. The clergy man echoed again, ‘If you have any objection to what I have said, please raise up your hand”, but there was a deep silence.
It is said that some Christian preachers are your Clients. What is your relationship with them?
Well, we have a secret relationship. They usually come in secret and sneak out in secret. However, we cannot divulge such secret because that is what we use to eat.
Do your Children share the same values of life with yours as a traditionalist?
Well, like every other human beings, I have problems as far as that is concerned. I made a mistake and the mistake is that I over educated my children. For instance, my first daughter has four degrees including two medical degrees. My second daughter, who is a lawyer and a pharmacist is currently doing another course in nursing.
In addition to that, my third daughter is an accountant and she is currently studying medicine at Emri University. So, how will I be able to build a bridge between myself and them? This orthodoxy is a case you and I will decide. However, occasionally, I put it to my children that I will be an honour to me as a father if any of my them will became both a medical and a native doctor.
Despite their beliefs, whenever they want to eat anything, they will come and ask me whether it is proper for them to eat that or this food. However, my hope is not dash because God has blessed me with a son in-law who is a pharmacist. He has vowed to continue from wherever I stop if my children refuse to take over.
What are the nature of cases the traditional courts including the one at your compound adjudicate on?
We handle all manner of cases of course. The name of the court is ‘Ogua’Edion’- meaning, traditional elder’s court. Here nobody tell lies. If you do, you will be struck dead.
Our Society today worships money in its diverse ways; with this comes corruption and criminality. Do you see light at the end of the tunnel?
Well, unless corrupt leaders and their followers are brought to book, our problems would not be solved. There is corruption everywhere. Sometimes when you see armed robbers and corrupt officials you begin to wonder who is worse. Whether Nigeria will disintegrate or not, there are certain things we must do. Unfortunately, the few persons who know what to do have failed to act and if Nigeria disintegrate then we must blame politicians. It is unfortunate that the ears of our leaders are full of wax that they do not listen to useful advice.
There was a certain prophesy I gave several years ago, one of such was the death of Gen. Mutala Muhammed (Rtd.), I saw Mutala in the sun where there was blood. Late Ernest Ikoli came to meet me about the prophesy.
A similar prediction came some years ago in this country when I said three people were going to be executed for a crime which they committed and was backdated. In addition, I said, on the day they were going to be executed, there will neither be rain nor sunshine and their government will crumble following a breach of one of the laws they made.
Soon afterward, one Ogedengbe Bartholomew backdated their crimes and immediately he was made to face execution in Lagos state and there was neither rain nor sunshine on that day. Barely one week later the government of Idiagbon and Buhari crumbled. Idiagbon had made a law on that year that no child should be allowed to go to pilgrimage, yet his first son did. That was what happened. Go and check your records. Today in Nigeria, we have serious problems and we must stand up and tackle all of them.
You were once a journalist. You practiced in the 70’s and 80’s alongside people like Dele Giwa. How do you see the profession today in terms of holding the government accountable and responsible?
Journalism profession is fast becoming weak as the Nigerian labour in Nigeria. In 1963, I led a protest march against the ministry of education of the defunct Midwest Region. I led the women’s wing. We got to the root of the matter and their agitations were met without delay.
The reason I will not blame the practitioners too much is that there is so much hunger in the country. At that time, although, I earned little, but out of the meager salary, I gave scholarships to nine persons. So a lot has changed now.
There was a particular year I wrote a story about certain widow who was heavily pregnant and when it was time to deliver she was brought to Central Hospital in Benin City. As at the time the expectant mother was brought in only a few nurses were on duty and there was not a single doctor on duty.
The nurses were making frantic calls for a doctor because the woman needed a Caesarian Session. When I heard about it I went to Benin Golf Club where I meant a medical doctor and told him about the problem but he said it was none of his business.
At the hospital, a black dog ran out from underneath the bed the expectant mother was laid and eventually she gave up.
I wrote the story and the following day it was published on the Nigerian Observer newspaper. It was provocative. So, when the former governor of defunct Midwest region/Bendel state, Dr. Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia read the publication, he was very upset.
Ogbemudia visited me in my house to confirm the veracity of the story. At about 5 o clock the following morning, the governor drafted security men to the hospital. No worker was spared including the doctors who were made to sit on the floor by the soldiers before their appointments were terminated.
I never knew how an Indian couple who were on a verge of been dismissed traced my house the following day to help save her job. Her husband attempted to bribe me but my conscience did not allow me to fall into the trap of accepting the largesse.
I had a similar experience with an Iranian who came to Nigeria during the wake of the civil war. The White lady was shabbily dressed and she was with some Nigerians at the ministry of establishment who deliberately wrote their addresses on five Pounds note and give to her.
When I left, I wrote the story which was typed by late Ebenezer Williams. Before, he began to type the story, he lit his cigarette. The following day, the story was published and it cause great stir in Nigeria.
Consequently, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, who was head of state began to rage and the reporter was threatened with sack. Yet, another of our colleague, Aloba, wrote another piece as follow up, title, ‘Fatherland in tears’ and concluded, “I have written; I cock my pen and I am waiting for the consequences.’ He was sacked as the General Manager of Midwest newspaper Corporations. So we were fearless and did our jobs to the best of our abilities.

Comments (3)

Subscribe to this comment's feed