WITCHCRAFT FEVER

In December, 2009 I had developed illness no one knew what it was. I had no appetite, no strength, but could not endure standing for more than 5 minutes so had to go back to bed. I had no control over my urge to urine and frequently before reaching to the toilet, I made mess in my undergarment. I stayed in bed days and nights. My Nigerian husband was very worried. “If you die now, people will say I killed you.”

One day he was outside in the yard; suddenly, he shouted, “What is this!?” He called Joseph, his brother, to look at his discovery. There was a top of a bottle stuck out of the ground buried on the corner of the back yard. They were nearly mad with fear and terror, saw it as a sign of bad omen—to take all the luck away from the householders. It would have been a laughing matter in my country. But here it was taken very seriously, at least the people around me. Now the question was who did it, and why. The house was quiet. My husband went out to investigate neighbors. He brought back some people and showed them his discovery in the yard. People were anxious. They whispered here and there.

He said he would get consultation from native doctors (Witch craft) went out around 11:00PM and came back at 3:00AM three times a week. My husband was convinced after some investigations that the landlord of the same compound buried the bottle. But why? He never went to ask the landlord. Instead, he started looking for another place to live. One week later, he had everything packed. “We are moving to a hotel.” Without strength and power in bed, I had no energy to question it. “You will soon be ok. Just get inside the car.” He helped me to get up the bed. With vague consciousness, I was carried to the Bramitt Ranch International Hotel where we would continue living next 2 ½ years.

Even after settling down in a hotel, I was still not well for weeks. My husband tried whatever he could to sustain me. Because I could not manage to eat garri and soup, he bought rice all the time. I felt restless. Whatever I ate, I had an urge to vomit, by forcing myself to eat, hardly was I satisfied. I was taken to hospital, and there I was diagnosed as ‘malnutrition coupled with stress’. Doctors gave me oxygen bottles to receive nutrition through tube attached to my arm. There were nothing I wanted to eat except Japanese rice and soup. It was impossible for my husband to get it. My mother was informed. She sent us money to buy a ticket to go back to Japan. When money arrived, My husband was supposed to buy an air ticket. A few days later, he informed me that he spent money for the rent of the hotel.

Finally, I grew better and was able to stand up normally; I could not understand, it was not up to 10 months since we paid 2-year lease, but why we moved from the secure compound we lived? Finding a bottle in the backyard was reasons to move out and live in a hotel, which required us to pay N60,000 per month! What is more, My husband sold our only the transportation, our car, Toyota Sierra. The dealer, took the car away after paying cash, N250,000, promising that he would pay remaining balance N300,000 later—but never fulfilled the promise. The car was not even up to 1 year since purchased for N 1.5 million. Adding to no income, it seemed our future looked dim. With such terrible fear, my husband condemned any questions I had. I could do nothing but pray that he will fear for God of justice, not witchcraft.

We had all the finance to back up our business and family, but witchcraft fear tore our lives apart. We were running life like a wrecked ship floating on a stormy ocean.