The organizers of the UNN Conference on Witchcraft have insisted that the event will go on as planned.
This contrasted with the previous information that the conference had been canceled by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) because of stiff opposition from Christian evangelical groups.
Professor Egodi Uchendu, the convener of the conference, expressed dismay at the erroneous news that the conference had been called off.
According to Uchendu, the information gathered from the conference would benefit the pastors and religious leaders in their work for the gospel, hence there is no cause for alarm.
She went ahead to invite the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and the general public to this academic session where papers, books, and journals on Witchcraft would be reviewed and discussed.
A Press release from her partly reads:
“The subject of the conference is Witchcraft. That’s the topic of academic engagement and NOT a gathering of witches.
Church pastors discuss witchcraft regularly and preach against it all the time, drawing from their experiences during their training and in their ministries. I am sure the information from this conference and the research findings would assist them in their work for the gospel.
Surprisingly, some persons, erroneously concluded that only witches can discuss witchcraft. We are not witches. We are professors and scholars who are intrigued by this phenomenon of witchcraft. Our conference is a mere academic discussion where we shall review journals, information gathered over the years on the subject matter. That is what scholars do and this should not cause alarm.
Several of the organizers of this conference are practicing born again Christians who preach the gospel and live by the gospel. I am personally aware of the stand of the gospel on Witchcraft. Since this is not a gathering of witches by witches, we are also allowed as scholars to discuss such topics. Our conference is all about the advancement of knowledge. The body of Christ generally, including CAN, will also benefit from our findings.
The conference will hold as scheduled at Princess Alexandria Auditorium and Unity Hall, UNN, at 10:00 a.m. on the 26th of November, 2019
I invite CAN, PFN and the entire public to attend this conference so that we can all share knowledge on this topic that is already generating some controversy.”
