A middle aged man, Mr Chinedu Agbata, a driver, has claimed to have been forced by his community’s deity, ‘Ogwugwu’, to become its Chief Priest.
Making this disclosure while performing his maiden function of feeding the deity, at Ogidi on Sunday, Agbata: “My problem started when I was working in Lagos where I stayed for years without achieving anything.
“I was a core Christian and also played my role in the pagan way while in Lagos but the problem was that whatever money I make will be lavished on drinking and other manners of merriment.
”This unnecessary expenditure continued to the extent that my behavior started to change and I started dreaming dreams and I was being advised to go back to my Ogidi country home that what was happening to me might not be unconnected with our deity”.
“In the church in Lagos I will be advised by the priest to go back to the town I came from but I refused to listen and the problem became worse.
“On a fateful day like that I resolved to go back to my town Ogidi as the problem became unbearable especially when frustration came in.
“On arrival at Ogidi, my people started telling me that I have finally returned, that I would have died or become useless in Lagos for disobeying our deity. Ogwugwu, that I have been asked a long time ago to return and serve the deity”
“However, I was selected on two occasions out of scores of those that were called before the deity to serve it. So today I am celebration and performing the maiden assignment of feeding the deity,”
“One goat, one lamb and some fowls were killed to celebrate the occasion and as you can see my people are here celebrating with me”
Agbata said: “On return from Lagos I
became the pilot driver to a prominent, illustrious son of the courtesy of my brother, Chief Patrick Agbata, and I am happy that things have started moving well for me now.
“It is while I am with this great son of the lans that I was made the Chief Priest and I thank God for everything. I didn’t know I was to become the Chief priest of Ogwugwu deity, in Ogbuonyeukwu family in Umundaa kindred of Umuezealor village, Ogidi”.
Speaking, Joseph Obidigbo, a member of the kindred said that, “it has been long we waited for an event like this. Because of not obeying the deity and what our forefathers kept for us to continue from where they stopped, I went blind for six years and it has been restored as I eventually started doing what the forefathers wanted us to do.
In his own speech, Nwachukwu Okoye Omaja, said. “I was in Lagos with the Chief Priest when he was in Lagos being disturbed by the deity and today he has become the Chief Priest and everything is going on well”
Also reacting, Chief Patrick Agbata, said that history has been made as they had gotten a chief priest who will now feed the deity.