When news of how blood of chickens, goats, pigeons and other cold blooded reptiles could not save the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire from the hand of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in last Sunday’s World cup qualifier match played in Abidjan, all the chief priest of various shrines, medicine men and their voodoo counterparts that masterminded the slaughtering of harmless animals and coupled with their faulty predictions of the result of the match are now on the run.
After reading report on the wire on how the Ivorian fans filed out of the stadium in Abidjan after the defeat of team, there was another story of deaths, which still now had remained officially unconfirmed by the Ivorian soccer authorities.
However, the most intriguing story of how the houses of voodoo priest was torched for their bad verses escaped the international media, but as fate would have it, A Nigeria female soccer player who watched the encounter and things that went with it opened up and narrated how bitter local soccer fans felt and what they finally did on the day the Lions humiliated the Elephants in their backyard.
Cynthia C. Okonkwo plays for a female soccer outfit (name withheld) in Cote d’Ivoire and she witnessed the other side soccer hooliganism immediately the referee sounded the last whistle. But before then, every Ivorian soccer fan was mobilized with a point blank assurance that the Elephants would have the day and go ahead to qualify at the expense of Cameroon. Hopes were raised following heart pumping predictions by voodoo priests, there were also personal sacrifices by fans which was ordered by the juju priests for the arrest and to counter an opposing phenomenon which may have accompanied Cameroonians to the stadium.
A lot of money was spent in obedience to priests orders.
As Okorokwo was narrating her story, she appeared ice-cold looking hypothenised and unwilling to continue, but she as soon as she was assured of some measure of protection as regards her real identity, she then relaxed and told the story.
“As a Nigerian I was thinking of what happens to us in Algeria where the Super Eagles would also face such task as the Cameroonians. My mind was off the Elephant’s match because I wasn’t giving much attention to it and with my emotions off, I was just managing to please my friends,”
Okoronkwo also said that before the match, most fans went through some rituals where they were given marks on their body before entering the stadium.
“What kept giving me nightmare was how fans here behaved before and after the match. I am a Catholic and I don’t believe I should go through rituals for a football match and when such fetish behaviour does not please God and for not agreeing to a ritual marks my club gave me some punishment because they said, evil can come through me to destroy their plans,”
The player had to escape from Ivory Coast to Nigeria when it was reported that those who did not go through the sacrifice were the cause for their defeat.
“I could not sleep the night after that match was played, my team mates were like suspecting that there was something I did that caused their defeat because I always have my rosary with me. And to make matter worse for me, Nigeria also defeated Algeria 5-2 and it was like I was planted in favour of Cameroon.
What was the fans reaction to the voodoo priest in Ivory Coast?
“Voodoo people are popular in Abidjan and they conduct their practice openly unlike Nigeria. Fans were angry and soon the match ended all the places the priests have their shrines was set ablaze and my friends who participated told me of how one was beaten to coma while others fled the capital city.
Okoronkwo noted that in the past a few voodoo priests had distinguished themselves and were used to predict matches correctly but on this occasion something went wrong, “even before that match some predicted that the Elephants would qualified with or without the match involving Cameroon, everyone was sure of at least a draw, a defeat was never imagined and when it happened, to local fans, behaved as if Jesus Christ have been crucified again, I had to escape with a Cameroonian female colleague to her country before coming down to Nigeria under the cover of the Lions football supporters club,” she said.
One pathetic thing that happened was burning of animals while alive, some would put live snakes into their mouth chanting some incantations and fumes from these things are poison to visitors like us but you dare not complain,” she said.
After reading report on the wire on how the Ivorian fans filed out of the stadium in Abidjan after the defeat of team, there was another story of deaths, which still now had remained officially unconfirmed by the Ivorian soccer authorities.
However, the most intriguing story of how the houses of voodoo priest was torched for their bad verses escaped the international media, but as fate would have it, A Nigeria female soccer player who watched the encounter and things that went with it opened up and narrated how bitter local soccer fans felt and what they finally did on the day the Lions humiliated the Elephants in their backyard.
Cynthia C. Okonkwo plays for a female soccer outfit (name withheld) in Cote d’Ivoire and she witnessed the other side soccer hooliganism immediately the referee sounded the last whistle. But before then, every Ivorian soccer fan was mobilized with a point blank assurance that the Elephants would have the day and go ahead to qualify at the expense of Cameroon. Hopes were raised following heart pumping predictions by voodoo priests, there were also personal sacrifices by fans which was ordered by the juju priests for the arrest and to counter an opposing phenomenon which may have accompanied Cameroonians to the stadium.
A lot of money was spent in obedience to priests orders.
As Okorokwo was narrating her story, she appeared ice-cold looking hypothenised and unwilling to continue, but she as soon as she was assured of some measure of protection as regards her real identity, she then relaxed and told the story.
“As a Nigerian I was thinking of what happens to us in Algeria where the Super Eagles would also face such task as the Cameroonians. My mind was off the Elephant’s match because I wasn’t giving much attention to it and with my emotions off, I was just managing to please my friends,”
Okoronkwo also said that before the match, most fans went through some rituals where they were given marks on their body before entering the stadium.
“What kept giving me nightmare was how fans here behaved before and after the match. I am a Catholic and I don’t believe I should go through rituals for a football match and when such fetish behaviour does not please God and for not agreeing to a ritual marks my club gave me some punishment because they said, evil can come through me to destroy their plans,”
The player had to escape from Ivory Coast to Nigeria when it was reported that those who did not go through the sacrifice were the cause for their defeat.
“I could not sleep the night after that match was played, my team mates were like suspecting that there was something I did that caused their defeat because I always have my rosary with me. And to make matter worse for me, Nigeria also defeated Algeria 5-2 and it was like I was planted in favour of Cameroon.
What was the fans reaction to the voodoo priest in Ivory Coast?
“Voodoo people are popular in Abidjan and they conduct their practice openly unlike Nigeria. Fans were angry and soon the match ended all the places the priests have their shrines was set ablaze and my friends who participated told me of how one was beaten to coma while others fled the capital city.
Okoronkwo noted that in the past a few voodoo priests had distinguished themselves and were used to predict matches correctly but on this occasion something went wrong, “even before that match some predicted that the Elephants would qualified with or without the match involving Cameroon, everyone was sure of at least a draw, a defeat was never imagined and when it happened, to local fans, behaved as if Jesus Christ have been crucified again, I had to escape with a Cameroonian female colleague to her country before coming down to Nigeria under the cover of the Lions football supporters club,” she said.
One pathetic thing that happened was burning of animals while alive, some would put live snakes into their mouth chanting some incantations and fumes from these things are poison to visitors like us but you dare not complain,” she said.
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