Environmental Genocidists As Crusaders Of Christ In
Igbo Land & Worrying Silence Of The Government
(Onitsha Nigeria: 19th August 2018)-Igbo Land may not
survive environmentally in the next 50years.
Trees and other leafy creatures as
natural and sole suppliers of oxygen for human living and survival and
absorbers of harmful human and industrial emissions such as carbon dioxide and
carbon monoxide are facing total extinction in Igbo Land. Igbo Land,
historically known as “a sub region” in the “rain forest region” of Nigeria
shall in no distance decades become “non leafy rain region of Nigeria”; capable
of being turned into left side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Trees are gifts of nature; with many growing on their
own and beyond what mere mortals can put into life while others are capable of
being recreated by living humans. In organized social climes, ancient trees are
preserved as monuments alongside creation and efficient management of forest
reserves including botanic homes and zoos. The world of medicine and pharmacy
derive their origin and survival till date from trees and leafy environment.
But in our own case in Igbo Land, lives of these trees
are being terminated with reckless abandon particularly by the so called “crusaders
of Christ”; yet when traveled to overseas for holidays and other social
engagements, the same “crusaders of Christ”
spend hugely and in hard currency visiting preserved forest monuments
including ancient trees and botanic homes.
But on their return to Igbo Land, the same ancient
trees they paid heavily to watch and take shelter under in overseas or foreign
tourism are turned into objects of
demonization and marked for destruction; likewise using them as extortionist
tools to rip off or defraud their largely misinformed and greedy victims. The
activities of these “prayer warriors and crusaders of Christ”, now hijacked by
“merchants in the House of Christianity God” spread like wildfire and found their way into the Catholic Church
that used to be dogmatic and level headed.
Sowers of economic trees especially the fruit bearing
ones in the Igbo Land of old used to roll out drums in celebration whenever
they lived to witness the trees they planted yielding fruits. In my hometown of
Ezinifite in Aguata LGA, I grew up in the 80s to hear of “Ube Nwa Mgbe-Afor”
(pear tree planted long time ago by a daughter of the family born on Afor
Market Day), “Okpoko Ube Nwile” (huge pear tree with fat and sweet fruit-pears)
planted by my father (Nwile) decades ago when he was young. This is just to
mention but few.
It is very important to state here too that the life
saving oxygen and life threatening carbon availability ratio in Igbo Land is
becoming acutely disproportionate and may most likely hit 20 percent for oxygen
and 80 percent for monoxide and dioxide carbons by next 50 years, unless urgent
and long term measures are concretely taken to reverse the dangerous trend.
Signs of environmental genocide are speedily and
unstoppably creeping and gripping the landscape of the Igbo Race, no thanks to
shortsightedness of the executive, legislative and judicial public office
holders and the unchecked activities of
“prayer warriors or crusaders of Christ” now hijacked by greedy “merchants in the House of
Christianity God”, in Igbo Land. Hiding
under the cover of “breaking generational curses and destruction of evil
spirits” or “witchcrafts”, these merchants in the House of Christianity God
have turned themselves into serious threat to environment security in Igbo
Land.
Just as wild life has almost completely been destroyed
in Igbo Land and -apart from global negative impact on natural environment
especially in rain forest regions through deforestation and industrialization,
leafy environment in Igbo Land is acutely and terminally threatened by the
following seven additional environmentally unfriendly activities:
1. Extended
and individualist family system: i.e. allocation of land to every male child
for establishment of his nuclear family living and lineage.
2. Massive
conversion of communal lands to churches, adoration/praying grounds, halls,
hotels and other communally or individually owned facilities
3.
Indiscriminate sale of preserved communal lands to market unions for
erection of market stores
4. Government
encroachment on preserved community lands and their indiscriminate allocations
to individuals and groups for erection of building structures of multi
purposes.
5. Government
zero policy on protection and preservation of leafy environment including forest
reserves, tree planting and reforestation and general land management
6. Absence of
efficient government policy and legislation for management of the environment
especially land, space and waste management or regulations
7. Unchecked
cutting down of ancient economic trees and leafy environment by merchants in
the House of Christian God, hiding under the cover of “prayer warriors or
crusaders of Christ”.
In the seventh or last category, the level with which
leafy environment especially ancient and other irreplaceable economic trees are
being felled in most parts of Igbo Hinter Land by the so called “prayer
warriors or crusaders of Christ” is alarming and deafening. Today, it is difficult to see a tree of 40 years and above still standing without
incurring the wrath of the said “prayer warriors or crusaders of Christ”.
For any long surviving tree; be it iroko or bitter
kola or “ngwu” or bread fruit or “akpu” or “achi” or rubber or “ukpaka” or
“ogbu”, etc that catches the “crusade” attention of these “prayer warriors or
crusaders of Christ” in any rural location, it is instantly tagged “evil tree”
or “arena for gathering of witchcrafts” or “an evil covenant tree hindering
material possession of members of the concerned family/clan/kindred”. As a result,
the fate of such tree is “rest in pieces”.
After felling such trees and having them cut into
pieces, the owners are in most cases told not to touch the woods made out of
them to “avoid incurring the wrath of the same evil spirits or broken curses or
witchcrafts chased out of same”; only for the same woods to be loaded and later
sold by the said “prayer warriors or crusaders of Christ”. The wrath of these
“prayer warriors or crusaders of Christ” has also been indiscriminately
extended to a number of economic trees
that are 40years and above in Igbo Land including pear, breadfruit (ukwa),
“udala”, “ugili”, bitter cola (agba-inu), gova, cashew and mango trees, etc..
The acute seasonal or subsistent nature of these fruit
bearing trees is compounded by their indiscriminate destruction by the said
“prayer warriors or crusaders of Christ”; leading to acute seasonal scarcity
and high costs in rural and urban markets. For instance, a cup of breadfruit
that used to be sold at N50.00 is now sold at N140.00 in Onitsha and much more
in non Igbo Land; likewise a piece of pear previously sold at N5.00 which is
now N30.00 or more. Prices of other fruits in the above named category have
also increased geometrically in addition to their diminishing supply
quantities.
Other than serving as cash crops, these trees also
control and prevent land or soil dismemberment called “erosions and gullies”.
They checkmate flood and river overflow, protect the earth and beautify the
environment; cure human ailment, provide food for the living, absorb dangerous
carbons including human emitted carbon dioxide and industrial carbons such
carbon monoxide. They equally protect against ozone layer depletion and have
their life circle and after life recycling metamorphosed into minerals and nutrients
for global agriculture, industrialization, growth, development and protection.
One of the tragedies that have befallen Christian
faith in Igbo Land is the emergence and proliferation of “merchants in the
House of God” who have converted the House of God into a centre for trade,
commerce and fraud. Catching in on pervasive poverty and leadership failure in
Nigeria as well as greed among private citizens, these “merchants in the House
of God” are as worse as criminal political office holders in Nigeria and deep
seated corruption therein.
The same false message and hope is given to every clan
or kindred or family members that hire them. To justify hundreds of thousands,
if not millions of naira paid by the concerned misinformed and at time greedy
family members to procure them for the so called “generational curse
breaking/crusade”, these “prayer warriors or crusaders of Christ” turn around
and let loose on innocent ancient economic trees and other members of leafy
environment.
Cash sums spent and ritual processes undergone by
victims of these “prayer warriors and crusaders of Christ” are thunderous and
deafening when mentioned. It is crookedly so lucrative that attraction of
10,000 people at a “crusade ground” by a starter “crusader” automatically means
raking in at least N10m cash on average of N1000 per congregant. This is not to
talk of mega crusades organized by “mega crusaders of Christ”. In nowadays
Catholic Church in Igbo Land, novena mass and prayers are commonly booked or
said for a price and in absentia by some proprietors of priestly or adoration
ministries for Igbo sons and daughters
doing questionable businesses especially such involved drug, arms and human
trafficking or shedding of human blood
or human rituals.
Many families have also been ruined and made more
disunited and dispute prone following the involvement of the so called “prayer
warriors or crusaders of Christ”. Cases abound where fake charms are planted in
the night by the said “prayer warriors or crusaders of Christ” and unearthed in
the day with; twisted accusations; all for purpose of justifying huge sums so
extorted or for returned-consultations especially where such victims are
accessed to have the capacity to pay or foot the bills being demanded.
The so called
“crusaders of Christ” also arrogate to themselves the status of being
“invincible” or “indestructible”, yet they all wear bullet proof vests and move
in company of well armed soldiers and anti robbery police squads. To maintain
followership, forests are stormed with ancient trees marked for destruction.
Yet mere shout of “Allahu Akbar” from a distance can make the entire
congregants and their “crusaders of Christ” run for cover and disappear in a
twinkle of an eye, thinking that Fulani Jihadists-the real enemies of Christian
faith have arrived!
Contributed By:
Emeka Umeagbalasi. He is a friend of the environment,
non-fanatical Christian/Catholic, human rights activist and chair, Int’l
Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law. Mobile Line: +2348174090052.
Email: [email protected].
Website: www.intersociety-ng.org
Merchants in the House of God as Environmental genocide emerges in Igbo Land Christianity
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Monday, August 20, 2018
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