Renowned researchers are of the opinion that the general character of science and the methodology it employs are in specific terms referred to as observation and experimentation. According to them, these two methodologies reflect how science differs from other systematic modes of inquiries. This description characterizes, strictly, ‘Western science’ and it is contrasted with the indigenous mode of enquiry that has come under the name, ‘African science’.
Further studies show that in contemporary scholarship, ‘African science’ is being condemned to the level of the mystic religious or super naturalist worldview, thus, ‘African science’ is said to be purely esoteric, personal, and devoid of elements of objectivity and rigorous theorization. Dr Emeka Ngwu is a lecturer in Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Enugu. He said, “Odighi eshi” is one of the revelations of ‘Africa Science’ whose efficacy cuts across religion and politics as it has seen to work and adopted by people depending on one’s faith.
“I wonder what best response to give. You are an Igbo person asking whether it is true that what is real and widely practised even in your village is true. You should understand and condition your mind to accept that “O dighi eshi”, shortened to “Odighi eshi” is real and works”. Also speaking, Mazi Okwudu Chidiebere Udenta, an English graduate of University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) but now a traditional healer said, “I do not know what you want to find out about it! You have to go down to the villages to interact with the practitioners, since city dwellers had been removed from appreciating the reality of it”.
He added, “The IPOB, Army, etc, are all using that native anti ballistic technology, so you might even have to get to them, too for first hand information on its efficacy! There are many types of it as there are many human types! It is a shame to Africans that they cannot see God in their own place and worship Him as such, rather than help the West and Arabia to exterminate their own people! However, not too long from now, we must return to basics – to honour our Ancestors under God: only grinding suffering returns good sense to the contemporary Igbo man, only then does he accepts what he rejects but, this time, a covert, long distance, self deceiving, nocturnal acceptance will no longer be allowed! Only an open, sincere recourse to self affirmation, which is Truth affirmation, will set us free from these foreign marauders”!
Odeghi eshi was a common word used during the reign of the dreaded Bakassi Boys in the period of the Mbadinuju Administration when they were introduced as the vigilante group in Anambra State to curb the uncontrollable vices eating down the terrains of the society. It emanated from Aba, Abia State.
The Bakkassi members performed the magic of chanting Odighi eshi when there was an encounter with the daredevil armed robbers that terrorized the neighbourhoods of Onitsha in the late 1990s. Reports had it that they started in Aba before they spread to virtually all major cities like Owerri and Onitsha. The Bakassi vigilante was formed by the Ariaria Market Traders sequel to the failure of the men of the Nigeria Police to check crime in their state then. It was just an effort to take their destiny in their own hands and a child of circumstances.
Ositadimma Okechukwu, a traditionalist who spoke to our Awka correspondent narrates that “Whatever the mind can conceive, and believe, the human being can achieve. The Black man has always been in touch with the intelligent force behind all of nature and in the course of interacting with these forces by trial and error in trying to solve its daily problems; the black man has been able to develop certain technologies that protects the bearer from harm. It is such African protective technologies that are referred to as Odighi eshi”.
He continued, “Yes, Odighi eshi exists and can be developed for individuals who seek out genuine traditional scientists that still retain the art and science of developing Odighi eshi. The intricacies of how Odighi eshi is developed remain secret only revealed to the initiates.
However, suffice me to affirm the existence of such technology. A trip to war torn areas in the South East such as Aguleri, Umueri would disclose several native doctors who are renowned for developing potent Odighi eshi which were used by their warrior during the wars they fought with each other. The efficacy of Odigh eshi varies, as do the range of harm they protect one from”.
He concluded thus; “We have Odeghi eshi that protects one from knife cuts, some from Dane gun wounds while there are some that are developed for certain kinds of bullets. Also, some Odighi eshi are worn around the neck or waist while others are swallowed or inserted into the anus. However, it is worthy of note that there is still room for improvement in developing the Odighi eshi as there are still several incidences where certain persons despite having Odighi eshi on them still got harmed by the very thing the Odighi eshi was supposed to protect them from”.
Also speaking about the potency of Odeghi eshi particularly during local battles, most respondents stated that that the “Igbo bullet proof” has been felt and experienced by some group of persons or group as a wielding armour during battles.
A retired vigilante member Uchenna Agudosi, who has served for years and had his own experience succinctly noted that most Odighi eshi powers were surrounded with the myth of not being harmed by live bullets or machetes or any metal objects capable of harming any normal human being.
According to him, “That was when Odighi eshi came to mean ‘it cannot enter’ as it was said that the Bakassi Boys shouted whenever robbers shot them during an exchange of fire. The movie, Issakaba, Bakassi Boys praised the exploits of this dreaded group and as such people feared them for their spiritual prowess.
Their unconventional method of crime busting especially, the playful beheading of robbery suspects and dissecting their dead bodies and burning them in a jungle manner in full glare of the public was applauded. Since then, people learnt to fortify themselves like the Bakassi Boys as a means of protecting from danger and this type of spiritual fortification of oneself came to be known as Odighi eshi. Though it is as old as our forefathers because they practiced some kind of divination during battles with warring communities, it still has its limit”.
In his contribution, Pa Lawrence Ekejiuba, a retired civil servants from Orlu, Imo State who now operates a poultry farm at Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State said he had witnessed the efficacy of Odighi eshi, but stressed that it seems to have available antidotes as well.
“Personally, I’ve witnessed the efficacy of Odighi eshi. Between 1998 and 2002 here in Aba, if you were here with us, you would have seen Bakassi Boys and what they did with Odighi eshi. I don’t really know much about those who now use it for crime, but I personally saw Bakassi Boys used it to make this city crime free.
At Ehi Road by Asa Road in the year 1999, I saw human beings picking bullets with hand while they were chasing armed robbers. You know that the then Bakassi were not really into gun things until around 2001 when they started using Pump Actions/Double Barrels. It was all about their deadly cutlasses. I also saw criminals who made use of Odighi eshi in this city, but they later fell to Bakassi Boys who killed them with cutlasses. It’s a common thing in the East and all our neigbouring riverside states.”
When asked if he could recall history behind such a thing as Odeshi, Ekejiuba said while growing up in his village in Orlu, he never knew anything as such. He however said that he was told a story of a town in their neighbourhood that has such history of which such a thing was imbedded in that town’s name.
“I don’t know the origin, but I was told that there’s a community called Ibiasoegbe in Imo State near Ihiala that were known for not being afraid of guns from origin. I was told that during an inter-community war with their neigbours in Uli, they were able to repel the Uli warriors with ordinary hands not withstanding that the Uli warriors came with Den Guns.
The Uli people changed the name of the community from ordinary Ibi to Ibiasoegbe. That community is in-between Imo State and Anambra State, but I know it’s in Imo State towards Owerri-Onitsha Highway. So, may be if you can trace their history, they may tell you more about the origin. All I know is that Odighi eshi is effective, but has neutralizer as well. Those who used it positively like the then Bakassi Boys as we were told, avoided all manner of Charm destructive items and elements. Even most as we heard avoided women and alcohol.
These were stories, open to verifications. However, we all heard it then,” he noted.
Really, some known armed robbers in Nigeria including Ishola Oyenusi, Lawrence Anini and even Vampire who relied on Odighi eshi where disappointed when their respective juju failed them. The meaning is that odighi eshi does not last the distance.