The widespread belief in witchcraft is
hindering the fight against cancer in Akwa Ibom State, a campaigner
against the dreaded disease, Ella Obott, has said.
According to Premium Times, Ms. Obott said there was a growing
tendency for people in the state to attribute cancer to some witchcraft
powers.
“That is actually one impression I am trying to correct in the minds of Akwa Ibom people,”
said Ms. Obott, a third-year political science student, who started
dedicating her time campaigning against cancer after losing her
45-year-old mother to it in 2015.
“I know there are witches and wizards, but it is not every
ailment that is caused by witchcraft. …It’s really a problem, and it is
really sinking deep,” she said.
Cancer is a top killer in Nigeria, where an estimated 100,000
people are diagnosed with the disease yearly. Of that number, about
80,000 don’t survive.
The high mortality rate is partly a result of the limited medical
care available in the country. Only two hospitals in Nigeria – the
National Hospital, Abuja, and Usman Dan Fodiyo University Teaching
Hospital, Sokoto – had functional radiotherapy machines as of December
2015.
Now, ramP@nt belief in witchcraft is making things worse, Ms. Obott said.
“I remember this woman, somewhere in Eket,” she said. “She
was diagnosed of cancer two years ago, and she refused to go for
treatment because she believed it was ifot (witchcraft) that was
afflicting her.
“The son took me to talk to her. Luckily, I was able to
convince her to go for treatment. I told her she could go to the
hospital, while the family helped out with prayers. She was taken out of
the country, she had her surgery successfully, and came back.
“She is a survivor, and she will actually be speaking in my event this October,” she said.
Ms. Obott said the witchcraft drama unfolded when her mother passed away.
“When my mom died, a whole lot of that drama happened; people
said they knew who killed her, and that they wanted to find out. But I
made them understood that my mother died of cancer, nothing more,
nothing less.
“Each time they brought up that topic, I made them understood
that I believe so much in God, and that I am a strong Christian. I
believe that if God did not agree for her to go through that process,
she wouldn’t have. Does it mean that witches now have more power than
God? I actually, don’t believe in all of that.”
The young campaigner said the argument about “ifot” being
responsible for her mom’s death was pushed by family members, and some
friends, but she stood her grounds.
She says the best way to check the B.rain wave about witchcraft, as
far as the campaign against cancer is involved, is to keep preaching
the message of early detection and early treatment.
When her mom was diagnosed of cancer, Ms. Obott was afraid that it
could someday get to her turn. But she later developed a positive
mindset that cancer could be cured, after all. Later, she went for a
mammogram to be sure she was in the clear.
Ms. Obott now runs a non-governmental organization, Noami Obot
Foundation, named after her late mother. She uses her personal money and
also relies on small donations from friends and kind-hearted
individuals for the organisation’s activities.
So far, the foundation has visited secondary schools in Akwa Ibom
to enlighten female students about B.reast cancer. It is organizing free
cancer screening, this September, for students at the Akwa Ibom State
University, Ikot Akpaden. On October 20, there will be street campaign
in Uyo, the state capital, to officially launch the foundation.
Ms. Obott advised young women to be mindful of their lifestyle, as it was capable of causing cancer.
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