Catholic Priest in Nigeria Urges the Church to Address Needs of Youths “going back to paganism”

“Our youths are going back to paganism. This emerging trend is nowhere on social media but for us here, this is our greatest worry. Very young boys and girls are going back to traditional practices,” Fr. Anaehobi said in the September 3 interview with ACI Africa.

The   Secretary General of the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa (RECOWA) said that at the heart of the worrying trend is the increasing insecurity in the region.

“There is the false belief that in the face of the current insecurity in the region, Christianity cannot protect anyone. They believe that with traditional religion, one can get some traditional way to protect themselves,” he said

“According to our young people, Christianity is not as practical as traditional religion,” Fr. Anaehobi said, and added, “When you go to the Churches in our villages, you will not find young people there. They are out there practicing traditional religion.”

He said that because of poverty and lack of employment, young people in Nigeria, especially in the rural parts of the country are avoiding the Church where they are told to go ahead and give the little they have to get blessings.

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They say that with traditional religion, no one is allowed to give much, Fr. Anaehobi shares with ACI Africa, adding that young people embracing African religious practices instead “meet, slaughter animals, perform rituals, dance and go home with full stomachs.”

At the moment, the trend can only be observed in rural villages, the Nigerian Catholic Priest says, and explains, “We are not worried about the cities because there, the Church is full of young people. What we worry about the most is our villages.”

To encourage young people to stay in the Church, Fr. Anaehobi has suggested that the Church in Nigeria rethinks its traditional role as just preaching the word of God and look for practical ways to empower youths in the country.

“As we teach and give hope, we must go out and meet these young people where they are. They are out there looking for solutions to their poverty and unemployment,” he said.

He added, “The Church may not have the means to get our young people employed but we can organize mentorship programs for them and facilitate their linkages with potential recruiters.”

In an interview with ACI Africa on September 4, Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo of Nigeria’s Catholic Diocese of Oyo said he had observed the increasing presence of traditional religions in the country.

“At the moment, we are talking about the revival of superstition and old traditional religions and beliefs in Nigeria,” Bishop Badejo said.

His sentiments were echoed by Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja in Nigeria, who raised an alarm about the emergence of a group calling themselves “old Catholics” in the country.

“We have a new group coming in, calling themselves old Catholics, and they are setting up churches all over the place and causing confusion among the people,” Archbishop Kaigama said, adding that the group is raising a mix-up among Catholics in the country as they clad as Catholic Priests and do the same Liturgy of the Holy Mass.

“Very many people are following this group,” he lamented, and added, “We are very careful as Bishops to watch out and to enlighten our people to be very careful not to fall into their traps. This isn’t healthy for us at all.”

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Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.