L-R) community chairman, sec, women leader, chief priest
By Chinwe Nwacha, Onitsha
It was praises and thanks-giving to God on Tuesday, as the Okpaleze Uruezealor Ogidi community, Idemili North Local Government Area, Anambra State, freed itself from poverty and death curses that have negatively affected the people.
Breaking the curses, while Presiding over a special mass service, Rev. Fr. Aloysius Agba, from Our Lady's parish Ogidi, urged some of the people to renounce their idol worship and use of charms, pointing out that only their faith in God would set them free.
He reminded them that as they have changed from old name, 'Umunda,' to a new name, 'Okpaleze,' new things will come their way unless they deviate from the worship of true God, stating that God does not abandone His people.
Also admonishing them to be of good behave and avoid the sins of their forefathers, Pastors Paul Okoye and Obi Oguaju, from Peculiar church, Ogidi, said that they have changed to a new leaf and the expectations were high.
"The expectations are that you will now live a holy life, avoid evil practices and idol worship as longivity, wealth, popularity and joy have found their way back to you, with the new name, 'Okpaleze,' (first son of the king), the old name, 'Umunda,' is by itself evil, and has gone with the evil also", they stated.
Reacting, the chairman of the Okpaleze community, Chief Patrick Agbata, thanked God for having mercy on them stating that the cleansing and chasings away the evil by the clerics, called for celebration.
"That is why we are making merry and thanking God as prosperity abandoned us that death and poverty have become the order in our kindred and nobody is happy," he stated.
In her own contribution, the chairlady of the women wing, Mrs. Anthonia Okammelu, said they resolved to earmark this day for God to rescue them from lack of progress, longivity, and sins of the fathers to wealth, longivity and prosperity.
"That is why we invited the clergy who have broken the curses that subjected us to poverty and sudden death that we can't boast of having elderly people as our youths die early in life. We changed our name from Umunda which may be part of the problem to Okpaleze,"
"This incessant death and poverty have made us to be laughing stock by our neighbors and friends that we blame ourselves and today resolved that the curses must be broken and they have been broken," she stated.
The secretary, Mr. Emeka A. Okoye, while expressing satisfaction for the breaking of the curses, hinted that his father and his three male siblings were also affected by the curses pointing out that two of them died in motor accident.
"My father and three of his siblings were not left out in the curse as two of them died in motor accident and one did not marry. This is part of what we are saying. You hardly get one who is up to 60 years in our kindred, let alone 70 years, so with the breaking of the curses, you can see that prosperity has started coming," he affirmed.
Also in his contribution, the Chief Priest (Ezenmuo), of the community, Chukwuemeka Agbata, confessed that the spirits were consulted and they endorsed that the name of the community be changed from Umunda to Okpaleze, for new things to come.
"I am the spiritual director and through me the spirits of our forefathers were consulted and they gave the order that we commence the change and we called the clergy so that we all join hands for a positive result," he stated.
Another member of the community, Mr. Augustin Okammelu, said that they have been relegated to the background because of the poverty and sudden death rearing their ugly heads in their place.
"People no longer see us as worthy and it has become a stigma that we resolved that the curses must be broken. That name, Umunda, is part of the problem and we changed it for new one, Okpaleze, we are first in this community but have been denied it because of poverty," he hinted.