By: Praise Chinecherem
It was celebration galore in Okpaleze Uruezealor Ogidi community, Idemili North Local Government Area, Anambra State following the liberation of the people of the area from poverty and death curses.
Breaking the curses during a special mass service, Rev. Fr. Aloysius Agba, from Our Lady’s parish Ogidi, urged the people to renounce their idol worship and use of charms, pointing out that only their faith in God would set them free.
“As you have changed your name from ‘Umunda,’ to a new name, ‘Okpaleze,’ new things will come your way unless you deviate from the worship of true God, because God does not abandone His people.
“You must be of good behave and avoid the sins of your forefathers,” he said.
Pastors Paul Okoye and Obi Oguaju, from Peculiar church, Ogidi, said 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, Chairman of the Okpaleze community, Chief Patrick Agbata, expressed thanks to God for His mercy, stressing that the cleansing and chasing away of the evils in the community 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, 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.
