Kunle Adelabu
A former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Barr. Saheed Osuolale Kolawole Shillings, has called for the reform of the traditional practices and make them more attractive to people if they are to continue to be relevant.
Shillings, who congratulated the traditional worshippers on the occasion of the ‘Isese’ Day, also described the declaration of a public in the commemoration of the day, as a milestone, and a development which has been welcomed by many.
The senior lawyer made the clarion call in a statement issued on Sunday, in commemoration of the 2023 Isese Day.
“First, I must congratulate the Nigerian traditionalists, for the recognition of the traditional religions by the government of our land. It is a milestone achievement as Islam and Christianity have dominated the public space without regards to them”, he said.
“On this occasion of Isese Day, I think that there are issues for reflection. First issue is the mode of worship and ceremonies. I think that a lot of the rites of worship convey brigandage and fear in people which modern people do not see in other religions that made them attractive, even if they came by conscription in the beginning. The traditionalists can benefit from the mix of religions and attractive cultural practices that can make their religion easier to relate with”, Shillings charged.
“Spirituality in the traditional religion has been responsible for so many evils that becloud the positivities. In Islam, there is separation between spiritual worship and spiritual healing. In Christianity, it is mixed but separable. Traditionalist should make a difference between worship and healing. In fact, the healings should convey positivities that do not give the healings by throwing negativities at others”.
Shillings called on the practitioners to be decisive in denouncing negative practices that have given the traditional practices bad images, and also use the native knowledge at the practitioners’ disposal to bring social and economic developments.
He called for the usage of the traditional powers in bring advancement to the society and humanity in general, for the practice to stay relevant and embraced by others.
“So many evils of society have been traceable to spiritualists. Ritual killings and practices have marred the image of traditional religions. It behoves on the traditionalists not only to stem but to come out boldly and stamp out those practices that make unworthy people to be what they are not suppose to be as rich and powerful people at the expense of other people’s lives and at the detriment of the society at large. Money rituals are being advertised on social media now”, he again charged practitioners.
“The powers of witchcraft and wizardry have made other societies better and enslaved us. Traditionalists must work in hands with Government, to exploit the knowledge of spiritualism to better our society in terms of security, development, health and healings, technical and technological innovations et al”.
“At this stage of global growth, one of the major missing factors is the spiritual force that is being negatively explored by individuals to the detriment of society. The secret societies in advanced countries have assisted their people to enslave us while ours only worsen our case”.
“The next stage is to work towards securing a space in the school curricular as other religions. As the black people in other climes, like Brazilians have adopted our practices, let us see the good values before some ‘Lander Brothers’ come to steal the rest”.
“Happy Isese Day!”.
