Opinion
Consciousness, Witchcraft And Literature
Normal human beings who have slept for at least six hours will not be drowsy at work, at home and on any other occasion. If he lapses into sleep, he oscillates between the conscious and the unconscious realms. One who is awake is in his full consciousness: he sees objects and people; he hears sounds around him and meditates. He is capable of reacting to any attempts of doing him harm physically, he can refuse or accept food if offered him. He can make coherent speech on any subject. It is difficult for witchcraft to operate at this level except hypnosis is induced. Witchcraft works with the unconscious mind and sub-conscious mind. One’s mind must operate at the cognitive realm, where self is in its active powers: the ‘I’ reason with representation. It associates one thing with another and is the investigator that garners experience.
‘I’ cannot determine what is witchcraft without knowing. What is witchcraft? It is non-existent without experiencing it or, it is a narrative constructed by I-connections based on the relations between the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere of the brain. If there is an occurrence of witchcraft that ‘I’ directly experience, ‘I’ interpret it in relation to background as Lancaster avows in his work about the construction of a narrative of a patient, where the right hemisphere received the message and the left hemisphere gave it an interpretation based on previous background.
Consciousness may be compared to a theatre. Most actions are dramatised on stage but some events are reported on stage having happened previously off stage. When the mind is passive, resting from active preoccupation with social, political and academic activities, one slips into the state of sleep, where the possibility is there to interact with the spirit realm depending on the state of the individual’s consciousness. At most times, the busy person finds it difficult to transcend into the realm of pure consciousness having been worried or preoccupied by so many issues in the day. The body becomes weary.
Witchcraft operates at the level of the body’s weakest point or ineptitude which corresponds with low level of spirituality. The body is induced to sleep and, the soul is covered with or without a blind. In the case of the earlier, the soul is kept in a darkroom where it becomes impracticable to know what happens in the realm of physical reality. The individual becomes vulnerable to the witch or the wizard who comes as the unwanted guest, who metamorphosis into a commander and makes the victim do his wishes. If he is a cruel antagonist, he sends him to weed or fetch water. He does anything without his will. The blind that covers his soul does not allow him to see through the event(s). He is left with physical signs to help him decipher the occurrence of the night.
The victim whose level of consciousness is higher sees through the event(s), but is incapable of disengaging from it. He wakes up with an I-narrative which he constructs from the scenes of the occasion or experience. He may not be capable of identifying the individual, but is certain that someone has done an inauspicious act.
A higher state of consciousness is when an individual’s level of spirituality becomes higher that he struggles to wake up under the powerful influence of the oppressor. He becomes aware of his presence and contends with him. He struggles and eventually grapples with him or he escapes. The I-connections are known from the beginning to the end; the stuff of narrative, plotting the beginning, the conflict, the characters involved, the climax and the end. The I-interpreter starts with the sense of the occurrence, the reception in the mind, its establishment, its register and the interpretation.
Few examples, consider these narratives:
Narrative 1
I was sleeping one day when some unknown person came into my house through magical means and assaulted me. It continued for weeks intermittently. On every occasion, I could not wake up; I felt drowsy, overwhelmed by the spell the wizard castled on me. I found my body in an unkempt state.
The persona in our context is at the lower state of consciousness. He recollects her helpless encounter with the wizard. Her sub-conscious mind reports hours after about the tragic dramatic encounter. The I-interpreter narrates the story with cues from the dream state like a dark figure walking into the room, the feeling of some strange person lying beside her on the bed and physical signs: naked and salt-like particles around her thighs. The feeble dramatic action of turning on the bed is the struggle seen in the dream state with an unknown person.
Narrative 2
The wife advised his wife A to fast for three days in his company. The wizard came as usual through comatose and entered the house. The wife felt the impact of his entrance, she struggled to get up, waiting for the man to undress before gripping him. She succeeded and discovered that her neighbour was responsible for her illegal sex exploitation.
The unconscious mind and the subconscious mind are subdued with the elevation of her consciousness through the spiritual exercise. The event registers on her conscious mind with a prop of the I-connections from sense through reception of the entrant to registration on the memory, until the I-narrator becomes ready for the composition of the story.
Narrative 3
A wizard entered my compound. I was asleep but I felt a sensational vibration within me. I woke up and listened keenly to sounds in my environment. There were showers of rain in the background and the barking of a dog in the compound, I switched on my torch and looked at my wristwatch, it was 1.00p.m. I kept it back and lay down on my bed ready to sleep; a strange movement made me turn left, looking at the wall, I saw a gecko transforming into a human being. I took my machete from beneath my bed and chased him; he changed into a gecko, disappeared and turned into a man outside. I opened the door and saw the man few yards ahead of me. I chased him and shouted: ‘I will kill you today’. He ran away faster, fear drove him from being slaughtered. ‘I will kill you if you come back again’, I said as I gave up the chase. The wizard ran on without saying a word, keeping mute intentionally to prevent disclosure.
The I-narrator’s consciousness has been trained to live at a higher state of consciousness.
Motivation
The witchcraft is motivated by hatred which could be because of a previous quarrel or jealousy. The witch or wizard seeks to hurt an opponent who has disagreed with him on the ownership of land, stream, business deal, contest for kingship, political position, academic position, and other issues. It could be that it was not motivated by trespass or offence, but jealousy emanating from the prosperity of an individual.
I-narrator from the perspective of the witch or wizard picks an action around which the hunt is fore-grounded, whether it is an irrational rationalisation of a framed event or action. He weaves the story with hatred, the thread that knits the setting, plot, character, action and performance. It may be a tragedy that could lead to the fall of the central character or his frustration in social status, political or religious. The I-locus ends in triumph. It could end in the tragic disgrace of the tragedian: reduction in social status, political deprivation and physical damage. There are always two persons or groups in the drama of good and evil which continue to replicate itself in humanity with different narrative perspectives, blends, prospects and outcomes. It depends on individuals, their levels of consciousness, cosmology, spiritual laws, developmental level of the society and human rights.
To be continued.
Dr. Barine Sanna Ngaage, resides in Bayelsa State.
Barine Saana Ngaage
The line that separates betrayal and corruption is very thin. Betrayal and corruption are two sides of the same coin. Like the snail and its shell they are almost inseparable. They go hand-in-globe. Betrayal and corruption are instinctive in humans and they are birthed by people with inordinate ambition – people without principles, without regard for ethical standards and values. Looking back to the days of Jesus Christ, one of his high profile disciples-the treasurer, was a betrayer. Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ for just 30 pieces of silver. One of the characteristics of betrayers is greed.
So, when on resumption from his imposed suspension, the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminilayi Fubara threatened to bring permanent secretaries who were found complicit in “defrauding” the State during the days of Locust and Caterpillar regime, he did not only decry a loot of the Treasury but the emotional trauma of betrayal perpetrated by those who swore to uphold the ethics of the civil service. Governor Siminilayi Fubara had least expected that those who feigned loyalty to his administration would soon become co-travellers with an alien administration whose activities were repugnant to the “Rivers First” mantra of his administration. The saying that if you want to prove the genuineness of a person’s love and loyalty feign death, finds consummate expression in the Governor Fubara and some of the key members of the State engine room
Some of those who professed love for Governor Siminilayi Fubara and Rivers State could not resist the lure and enticement of office in the dark days of Rivers State, like Judas Iscariot. Rather, they chose to identify with the locusts and the caterpillars for their selfish interest. Julius Caesar did not die from the stab of Brutus but by his emotional attachment to him, hence he exclaimed in utter disappointment, “Even you Brutus”. The wound of betrayal never heals and the scar is indelible. Unfortunately, today, because of gross moral turpitude and declension in ethical standards and values, betrayal and corruption are celebrated and rewarded. Corruption, a bane of civil/public service is sublime in betrayal. The quest to get more at the expense of the people is the root of betrayal and sabotage.
This explains why Nigeria at 65 is the World’s capital of poverty.
Nigeria is not a poor country, yet, millions are living in hunger, abject poverty and avoidable misery. What an irony. Nigeria, one of Africa’s largest economies and most populous nation is naturally endowed with 44 mineral resources, found in 500 geographical locations in commercial quantity across the country. According to Nigeria’s former Minister for Mines and Steel Development, Olamiekan Adegbite, the mineral resources include: baryte, kaolin, gymsium, feldspar, limestone, coal, bitumen, lignite, uranium, gold, cassiterite, columbite, iron ore, lead, zinc, copper, granite, laterite, sapphire, tourmaline, emerald, topaz, amethyst, gamer, etc. Nigeria has a vast uncultivated arable land even as its geographical area is approximately 923, 769 sq km (356,669 sq ml).
“This clearly demonstrates the wide mineral spectrum we are endowed with, which offers limitless opportunities along the value-chain, for job creation, revenue growth. Nigeria provides one of the highest rates of return because its minerals are closer to the suffer”, Adegbite said. Therefore, poverty in Nigeria is not the consequences of lack of resources and manpower but inequality, misappropriation, outright embezzlement, barefaced corruption that is systemic and normative in leaders and public institutions. According to the World Poverty Clock 2023, Nigeria has the awful distinction of being the world capital of poverty with about 84 million people living in extreme poverty today.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data also revealed that a total of 133 million people in Nigeria are classed as multi-dimensionally poor. Unemployment is a major challenge in the country. About 33 percent of the labour force are unable to find a job at the prevailing wage rate. About 63 percent of the population are poor because of lack of access to health, education, employment, and security. Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) speculated that unemployment rate will increase to 37 percent in 2023. The implications, therefore, is increase in unemployment will translate to increase in the poverty rate. The World Bank, a Washington-based and a multi-lateral development institution, in its macro-poverty outlook for Nigeria for April 2023 projected that 13 million Nigerians will fall below the National Poverty line by 2025.
It further stated that the removal of subsidy on petroleum products without palliatives will result to 101 million people being poor in Nigeria. Statistics also show that “in 2023 nearly 12 percent of the world population of extreme poverty lived in Nigeria, considering poverty threshold at 1.90 US dollars a day”.Taking a cursory look at the Nigerian Development Update (NDU), the World Bank said “four million Nigerians were pushed into poverty between January and June 2023 and 7.1 million more will join if the removal of subsidy is not adequately managed.” These startling revelations paint a grim and bleak future for the social-economic life of the people.The alarming poverty in the country is a conspiracy of several factors, including corruption. In January, 2023 the global anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency International, in its annual corruption prospect index which ranks the perceived level of public sector corruption across 180 countries in the world says Nigeria ranked 150 among 180 in the index. Conversely, Nigeria is the 30th most corrupt nation in the ranking. It is also the capital of unemployment in the world.
Truth be told: a Government that is corruption-ridden lacks the capacity to build a vibrant economy that will provide employment for the teeming unemployed population. So crime and criminality become inevitable. No wonder, the incessant cases of violent crimes and delinquency among young people. Corruption seems to be the second nature of Nigeria as a nation . At the root of Nigerians’ poverty is the corruption cankerworm.How the nation got to this sordid economic and social precipice is the accumulation of years of corrupt practices with impunity by successive administrations. But the hardship Nigerians are experiencing gathered momentum between 2015 and 2023 and reached the climax few days after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who assumed power as president of Nigeria, removed the controversial petroleum subsidy. Since then, there is astronomical increase in transport fares, and prices of commodities. Living standard of most Nigerians is abysmally low, essential commodities are out of reach of the poor masses who barely eat once a day.
The Dollar to Naira exchange rate ratio at one dollar to N1,000, is the most economy-unfriendly in the annals of the history of Nigeria. The prohibitive prices of petroleum products with the attendant multi-dimensional challenges following the removal of the subsidy, has posed a nightmare better to be imagined than experienced. Inflation, has been on the increase, negatively affecting the purchasing power of low income Nigerians. Contributing to the poverty scourge is the low private investment due to.unfriendly business environment and lack of power supply, as well as low social development outcomes resulting in low productivity. The developed economies of the world are private sector-driven. So the inadequate involvement of the private sector in Nigeria’s economy, is a leading cause of unemployment which inevitably translates to poverty.
Igbiki Benibo
In today’s fast-paced, hyper-competitive world, the pursuit of success and growth has become an all-consuming force. Individuals, organisations, and nations alike, are locked in a perpetual struggle to achieve more, earn more, and surpass their rivals. Yet, beneath this relentless drive for progress lies a silent danger—the risk of self-destruction. This perilous pattern, which I call the self-destruct trajectory, describes the path taken when ambition and growth are pursued without restraint, awareness, or moral balance. The self-destruct trajectory is fueled by an insatiable hunger for more—a mindset that glorifies endless expansion while disregarding the boundaries of ethics, sustainability, and human well-being. At first glance, it may appear to promise prosperity and achievement. After all, ambition has long been celebrated as a virtue. But when growth becomes the only goal, it mutates into obsession.
Individuals burn out, organisations lose their soul, and societies begin to fracture under the weight of their own excesses. The consequences are everywhere. People pushed beyond their limits face anxiety, exhaustion, and disconnection. Companies sacrifice employee welfare and social responsibility on the altar of profit. The entire ecosystems suffer as forests are cleared, oceans polluted, and air poisoned in the name of economic progress. The collapse of financial systems, widening income inequality, and global environmental crises are all symptoms of this same relentless, self-consuming pursuit. To understand this dynamic, one can turn to literature—and to Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. In one of the novel’s most haunting scenes, young Oliver, starving in the workhouse, dares to utter the words: “Please, sir, I want some more.” This simple plea encapsulates the essence of human desire—the urge for more. But it also mirrors the perilous craving that drives the self-destruct trajectory. Like Oliver, society keeps asking for “more”—more wealth, more power, more success—without considering the consequences of endless wanting.
The workhouse itself symbolises the system of constraints and boundaries that ambition often seeks to defy. Oliver’s courage to ask for more represents the daring spirit of human aspiration—but it also exposes the risk of defying limits without reflection. Mr. Bumble, the cruel overseer, obsessed with authority and control, embodies the darker forces that sustain this destructive cycle: greed, pride, and the illusion of dominance. Through this lens, Dickens’ tale becomes a timeless metaphor for the modern condition—a warning about what happens when ambition blinds compassion and growth eclipses humanity. Avoiding the self-destruct trajectory requires a radical rethinking about success. True progress should not be measured solely by accumulation, but by balance—by how growth serves people, planet, and purpose.
This calls for a more holistic approach to achievement, one that values sustainability, empathy, and integrity alongside innovation and expansion
Individuals must learn to pace their pursuit of goals, embracing rest, reflection, and meaningful relationships as part of a full life. The discipline of “enough”—knowing when to stop striving and start appreciating—can restore both mental well-being and moral clarity. Organisations, on their part, must reimagine what it means to succeed: prioritising employee welfare, practising environmental stewardship, and embedding social responsibility in the core of their mission. Governments and policymakers also play a vital role. They can champion sustainable development through laws and incentives that reward ethical practices and environmental responsibility. By investing in education, renewable energy, and equitable economic systems, they help ensure that ambition is channeled toward collective benefit rather than collective ruin.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) provides a tangible pathway for this transformation. When businesses take ownership of their social and environmental impact—reducing carbon footprints, supporting local communities, and promoting fair labour—they not only strengthen society but also secure their own long-term stability. Sustainable profit is, after all, the only kind that endures. Ultimately, avoiding the self-destruct trajectory is not about rejecting ambition—it is about redefining it. Ambition must evolve from a self-centred hunger for more into a shared pursuit of the better. We must shift from growth at all costs to growth with conscience. The future will belong not to those who expand endlessly, but to those who expand wisely. By embracing restraint, compassion, and sustainability, we can break free from the cycle of self-destruction and create a new narrative—one where success uplifts rather than consumes, and where progress builds rather than burns.
In the end, the question is not whether we can grow, but whether we can grow without losing ourselves. The choice is ours: to continue along the self-destruct trajectory, or to chart a more balanced, humane, and enduring path toward greatness.
Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi
-
Featured5 days agoNigeria’s First Lady Flags Off Renewed Hope Health Initiative In Rivers …Targets Measles, Rubella, HPV Vaccination For Children, Women
-
News5 days ago
Digital Infrastructure Key To Nigeria’s Economic Growth -NIEEE
-
News5 days agoFirst Lady Charges RHI Beneficiaries To Build Foundation For Food-Secure Nigeria …As 800 Rivers Farmers Receive Agric Empowerment Support
-
News5 days ago
RAAMP: Rivers Rated High In Implementation
-
Nation5 days ago
Rivers Chief Judge Pardon 14 Inmates From Prison To End 2024/2025 Legal Year
-
Nation5 days ago
Cancer Care: Expert Seeks Hospice In UPTH
-
News5 days agoUse Service Year To Build Capacity, Fubara Urges Corp Members
-
Featured5 days agoWorkers’ Audits Not Meant For Downsizing – Walson Jack