Ekwensu Kidnaps Mammy-Water: Bandits kidnap of 25 cultists as a Metaphor for The Pantheon of gods gradually pushing Nigeria from a failing state towards a failed state

By Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja

Nigeria is gradually sliding from a failing state to a failed state.

Nigeria is ticking the boxes and meeting all the parameters of a failing state as published in the report of an African professor of law at Cornell University. See Prof. Ndulo’s book: “Failed and Failing States: The Challenges to African Reconstruction” (2010).

One of the parameters is that the government no longer has a monopoly of instruments of power and coercion.

Individuals and groups now exert power and control swaths of territories in Nigeria.

This is now countries like Sudan and Somalia became failed States. Different groups used arms and controlled different territories.

In Nigeria of today, a similar situation is unfolding.

It is as if a Pantheon of Gods are in full-blown operation in Nigeria, inflicting mayhem upon those with lesser power.

For example, the Senate President is like a god with higher power, and he has unleashed his superior firepower upon Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

Each of these gods is at liberty to use superior firepower to kidnap and seek for ransom from another god.

To use the Igbo mythology for example, in the hierarchy or pantheon of Igbo deities, Ekwensu is the highest evil spirit and he can kidnap Mammy-Water (mermaid) and ask for ransom!!

This is exactly what happened on 28th July 2025, as it was reported that bandits kidnapped 25 Cultists in Jos.

“A pantheon of gods refers to all the gods of a particular religion or mythology considered as a group or a collective. It can also refer to a temple dedicated to all the gods, as was the case with the Roman Pantheon, though the term’s use has expanded beyond just temples according to Wikipedia. Furthermore, “pantheon” can also be used to describe a group of people who are considered the most important or influential within a particular field.”

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