I was taken to a juju community at a young age. My mother Rach took me to the juju community. My father Miki was battling with a car accident and was newly declared a pastor at that time.
My mother took me to the juju priest after arrival at the community. The juju priest threw cowrie shells on the ground, looked at me and said “Olusho, you’re a witch”. I was not afraid nor did i believe his claims. I asked the juju priest confidently “How do you know this ?”. I was a young boy so it was strange to the juju priest. The juju priest cancelled the session and I was taken away by my mother.
I was too young to know the consequences of being branded a witch but i refused the false claim by the juju priest. I would have refused any drink or ritual process imposed on me after being told i was a witch and my mother knew this.
My mother cared about what people would say if they found out she took me to a juju priest so my refusal meant neither she nor the juju priest could enslave me with the accusation of being a witch or subject me to an exorcism. I was lucky because other children in Nigeria were not so lucky. Lots of children accused of being witches are thrown out by their parents, beaten and possibly die as a result of being accused of witchcraft. My refusal to accept the juju priest’s claims saved me from modern slavery at that time.
I could not leave the juju community alone, being a child, so i wandered around while waiting for me and my mother to return home so i could resume my schooling and other activities.
There was a central entertainment building with a TV, It had a big snake in a cage on the side and most people sat opposite it to watch the TV. I was curious and interested in the snake so i went close to it and discovered that due to the fear of snakes, it was the most comfortable location to watch TV as other people avoided the snake. I later got my own snake but unfortunately, i couldn’t take good care of it as i lacked knowledge on how to take care of reptiles.