Poverty, Witchcraft and Witch-killing in Africa
“The campaign to make poverty history- a central moral challenge of our age- cannot remain a task for the few; it must become a calling for the many”.
-Kofi Annan, United Nations Ex- Secretary-General, October, 2006
The Kofi Annan’s challenge above is a mean one; a clarion call to every citizen of the world to do their bit, their very best, in the quest for a poverty-free world. To some of us who are African humanists, the call must be taken seriously to guarantee better future devoid of deprivations of essentials of life. Yet we see the probability of eradicating poverty in Africa soon, most especially in sub-Saharan Africa, as a mirage based on daily worrisome happenstances around us. In this piece and for the benefit of October 17 celebration, the international day for the eradication of poverty, we shall be examining two of these disturbing trends of events that are giving many of us sleepless nights: witchcraft and witch-killing. We shall be exploring their nature and e ...