Jideofor Ugezu, better known as Ugezu J. Ugezu, is a Nigerian director, actor, screenwriter and producer.
Mr Ugezu is known for his frequent promotion of Igbo culture and traditions. He hails from Enugu-Ukwu in Anambra State in southeastern Nigeria, which has a large Christian population.
In this interview with PREMIUM TIMES, the 53-year-old Nollywood star talks about his aversion to Christianity in Nigeria and why he stopped attending churches.
Extracts:
PT: How do you define yourself? Christian or traditionalist?
Ugezu: I am a Christian by faith but a traditionalist by practice.
PT: Do you practice worship in churches?
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Ugezu: No, but I only go to church when I am invited to some event. If there is a program, such as a wedding in the church, and I am invited, I go. But it is not that I have made it my goal to go to church. I have many Christian friends, and even reverend fathers who understand my position as a traditionalist and have no problem with it. I even have a friend who is a bishop and understands my position.
PT: At what point did you stop worshiping in churches and what is your problem with being a Christian and worshiping in churches?
Ugezu: Christianity is an organised business and people are beginning to understand that it is a business. It is not about the Bible, but about the highest bidder. I read what Chimamanda Adichie wrote about a burial she attended in Cross River State, how the priest reacted to a problem, and she recalled how her father was buried. Maybe the form of Christianity that is practised has to do with our people. She (Adichie) was trying to show that what she saw there in Cross River is not what you can get here.
How can the church refuse to bury a member because he owed a dues before he died? These things happen and people defend them. When you understand that the church has become political, you can become a traditionalist and still go to church. Not everyone can say that they are a traditionalist because they are afraid of what people will say, like me. But if you have killed your fear, like me, then you can do whatever you want.
PT: Do you agree with the arguments of some South-Easterners that the problem with the Igbo is that they are adopting Western religion, such as Christianity, instead of their traditional way of worship?
Ugezu: But that is the absolute truth. It is something that should not be talked about so much before we understand the need. I have spoken on a very big platform. Take something as simple as praying over a kola nut for example. And then you will see some people to whom you give a kola nut to pray over. And then they smuggle the Christian prayer into the kola nut and after praying over the kola nut, they say they are blessing the kola nut in the name of Jesus for example. That is an aberration and it is part of the problems we have. Nobody is against someone deciding to pray according to the Christian faith or any other faith. That is a different kind of prayer. You do those prayers, it is good. But when you are asked to pray with a kola nut, it becomes a different kind of prayer. It is a prayer that is anchored in the four cardinal forces that control everything in Igbo land. These are the forces of Eke, Orie, Afor and Nkwo (market days). These are the spirits that control finances. Every community in Igbo land, no matter where they are, has these forces domiciled. If you don't have Eke, then you have Orie. It is just a prayer over a kola nut to invoke them to sanctify what you are doing. Most sensible people, including me, believe that if we can take back our tradition and practice it as it should be, many of the problems we have in Igbo land would have ceased.
I heard of an occasion in Aguata where two boys ran into a church where people were praying and reported that they had seen some pastors entering their village with AK-47 rifles and the congregation fled. But in an organized village, where people still adhere to Odinani (the traditional Igbo religion), how can anyone run away from his village? Because there is nothing that can overwhelm you. We have lost faith as a people and that is why we are having so many problems.
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I think if we can go back to our roots and do the things we need to do, a lot of mistakes will be corrected and a lot of abnormal things we are experiencing will be resolved.
PT: Are you saying that if the Igbo returned to Odinani, the traditional form of worship, insecurity in the South-East would cease?
Ugezu: Yes. Insecurity is local. If local communities can unleash the wholeness of a lifestyle, there will be no criminal who is not known. We are just playing politics with insecurity. If we do things the right way, all these things will not exist.