Magic and the Supernatural - Lancaster University

Echenna B. Okeja
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administrative unit, where fetish objects, suspected to be charms,
where planted at the entrance doors to the offices of the Vice-
Chancellor and his deputy. A small earthly ware was kept at the
entrance of the V.C.’s office, while the door to the office of his
deputy was sealed off with palm leaves, which traditionally
signalled danger.
This story in the Newspaper brings out, to a certain extent, the manifestation of,
and belief in the phenomenon of magic in contemporary Nigeria. It makes clear the
fact that even the most educated Africans (most educated Nigerians in this context)
are not exempted from the belief in this phenomenon. The question, however, is:
why is it that the phenomenon of magic still persists in contemporary Africa, even
with the wave of globalisation and its attendant modernism? Why are these
practices still commonplace in Africa even with the acquisition of scientific
knowledge through education and the acculturation of other imports in the realm of
culture, life-style, etc.? The answer to the question just posed cannot be onedimensional;
however, I submit that a persistent tide of hybridism is at the heart of
the issue, especially hybridism in the sphere of religion. In contemporary African
experience, hybridism in the religious sphere has led to a situation where many
people view everything in a quasi magical way. By so doing, they preclude the
possibility of explaining the events of life in the light of scientific inquiry. This
kind of attitude persists because it helps people to evade confrontation with the
events of life that they do not like to confront: things are simply put in the hands of
one g(G)od or the other from whom miracles are constantly expected. So, instead
of a market economy, many African countries now have a praying economy and
instead of working assiduously for a democratic and just society, many African
countries pray for a miracle to bring this about, that is, praying for a miraculous
change to democratic and just society. Instead of employing the tools of dialogue
in solving national problems, faith in a certain magical/miraculous change is
invoked and the truth of the problem is postponed, sometimes, indefinitely.
The situation just described is the effect of the current hybridism in
contemporary African experience. In this process of hybridism – an out-of-context
interpretation of practices/elements of traditional African belief system in the quest
for compatibility with other imports, different kinds of asymmetries arise in the
social, political, religious, etc. life of the nation. The dire consequence for the
nation accruing from these asymmetries is, amongst many others, confusion and
loss of sense of purpose; that is, living the reality of a dysfunctional society.
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