Let’s talk about something a bit strange but very real: The Witchcraft Act of 1945. Yes, you heard that right. This is a law that is practiced in Nigeria – this is a law that is implemented in Nigeria – not one that is placed in a museum as a mere show piece where it rightfully belongs. It is still legal now in the year 2024, though that may sound ridiculous as this law is still enforceable. If it is new to you let me explain in details.
The Witchcraft Act in its effect makes it unevaluable to point at a man as witch or todeclare to the community that you or any other person has power of witchcraft. At first glance, this appears to be a law for the purpose of recusing people from being falsely accused and facing vendetta instigated by superstitious thugs. Fair enough, right? But here’s the twist: in fact they have been counterproductive in actuality since the inception of this law. It has not protected anyone but has twisted plots of broken lives, unresolved social issues, and digests a regressive view of the society.How Does This Play Out?
Here’s a typical scenario. Just imagine a tiny village, people of which believe in the ways of ancestors and if something bad happens to them, it might be due to witchcraft. Some children suddenly come down with an illness. An agriculture yields a poor produce even when he hard farmed his land. Sudden misfortune occurs at some point in time. What happens next? There’s always a scapegoat—and it never seems to be the people in power who suffer the most for their transgressions.
But who are these vulnerable people? All the misfits — lonely older women, children, anyone who doesn’t belong there. It may be the old lady who stays all by herself after the husband has passed on. Or the child who has a grin when the others sit like little scholars. Or the woman whose menacing stare is simply a look enough to make the bones of anyone who crossed her run cold? The moment that insult has been thrown, or the suggestion that ‘She is a witch’ made, the sufferer is just about as good as dead. An accused “witch” doesn’t get a chance to start a life worth living.
Regardless of the verdict given, a person is marked, and the label is as sticky as glue. They are shouted at, flogged, or driven out of their homes. Some are left to roam alone like Robinson Cruesoe that is they are confined away from their families and friends. And the worst part? Once a girl/ woman has been labelled a witch there is almost no way to undo the perception. If something is brand it seems that that is it forever.
The Reality Check: 2024 Is Not 1945
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Now imagine if we just stop for a second and start wondering about this scenario. It’s 2024. We are a people of information, technology and post-modern science in the twenty-first century. That for themselves they have been enough to realise that sicknesses are not caused by witchcraft. Yields below par are not due to some spirit that has dealt with your farm. The problems of life as hard as they may be are not because of witchcraft.
But here we are clinging to a law that we have been left by the colonial masters and yet we have no capacity as a society to tackle the actual challenges that plague our society today. Think about just how great we would be if only we recalibrate. One may raise capital to develop better health structures so that children do not die from diseases that would otherwise be preventable. This is a world where farmers get the right farming support they require so as to get the right production. The human being should use learning, not fetish, as the shield when he is faced with obstacles in the life he leads. So, the oh so famous Witchcraft Act has proven to be inadequate and inefficient in so many ways. It perpetrates the problems of poverty, sickness, and hardship by continuing outrageous ideas that scapegoat the wrong persons. And who suffers? The very people who need to be protected most.
Why Do We Keep It?
Honestly, why are we holding onto this law? If we’re being real, it belongs to another time entirely. The Witchcraft Act feels like something that should be preserved in a museum as an example of how far we’ve come. A dusty piece of legislation that future generations can look at and shake their heads in disbelief. And yet, here it is. Alive. Intact. Shameful. Nigeria has made incredible strides in so many areas—tech, education, business—yet this law drags us backwards. It’s toxic. It’s harmful. And it has no place in a country that prides itself on progress and development.
What Needs to Change?
It’s time to ditch the Witchcraft Act for good. Instead of holding onto colonial standards, let’s focus on creating laws and policies that protect, and uplift our society. We need to invest in:
• Health care: So no one has to lose a child to preventable sicknesses.
• Agricultural support: To ensure farmers thrive without having to blame bad harvests on imaginary forces.
• Public education: Because knowledge dismantles superstition faster than anything else ever could.
We need to move forward—not with laws that terrorize and isolate people, but with solutions that solve real problems. It’s Time to Let Go In truth, the Witchcraft Act of 1945 should have been left in 1945. It’s old, it’s harmful, and it’s holding us back. The time has come to ask ourselves: why are we keeping a law that does nothing but destroy lives? If we’re serious about progress, let’s start by letting this one go. Replace it with compassion, understanding, and real, tangible solutions. That’s how we move forward. What do you think? Isn’t it time we left this law where it belongs—buried in the past?
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Hello there, this is such an interesting and detailed post. Firstly, this is my first time learning about the Witchcraft Act of 1945. Of course, I've heard stories related to this. You are right; we are in 2024, not 1945. We're in a new century filled with technology, science, and many other advancements. It's time for outdated practices to pass.
exactly, they do not make any sense at all, as the only thing they do is endanger lives and ostracize people
Lol you'd think there's no need for it because you are unaware of the grave effects witchcraft has on people. If you've never experienced any attack then you'd of course think nothing of it. Other people need such laws for protection, do not disregard the law just because you have never been able to use it.
If the said culprits aren't the right ones then the people upholding the law are at fault. It means there needs to be a change in the mindset of people who are enforcing it. You can pray to God if you aren't able to talk to the people involved in order to help change things. Nothing is impossible with the Lord but we must still act on being part of the change we wish to see in the world.