“Not a cult” Read the full story of How ‘Vigii Aaba’ started in Bodo City.

A research work undertaken by ADDAKOBANI BARIBOR HENRY.

This is to clarify that this research wok was undertaken by ADDAKOBANI BARIBOR HENRY. It has been read and approved as meeting the requirements for the award of the Bachelor of Arts (B.A) Degree in the Department of Religious and Cultural Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of Port Harcourt.

Pls Note: This work is not for a fault finding mission, neither is it trying to point an accusing finger at any one dead or alive. Instead we are only making this explorative study for posterity sake so as to help reduce to barest minimum or better prevent these acts from ravaging the future generation.

According to someone we interviewed who pleaded anonymity, vikigi all started in the year 1998 following the preparation for the general elections of 1999. After the death of General Sani Abacha the ban on politics in Nigeria was lifted and preparations was at top gear to usher in a democratically elected Government. Some of us the young boys used to go out to somewhere every morning for exercise in order to keep body fit. One of those days during the time for our usual exercise we received an information that someone wanted to meet with us to discuss something very important. We assembled for our usual exercise and sent someone to call the person who wanted to meet with us. As of this time political parties had already been formed.

The two major political parties with much population in Bodo-city as of then were the All Peoples Party (APP), latter changed to the All Nigerian Peoples Party – (ANPP) and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP (which started as a group called and known as G34). 

While we were waiting for the person to come and address us, some group of persons who had political interest heard about our planned meeting, and believing based on fillers they got that the supposed meeting was politically motivated and will be against their political interest decided to come and arrest all of us.

While they were coming for our arrest they met the person whom we were waiting for who was on his way coming to address us and decided to arrest him.

When the news of his arrest got to us we all moved out and rescued him. These group of persons with vested political interest did not stop, but latter engages the services of a group in Bodo as of then which was known as “Top 10” to arrest, beat, intimidated us and to make sure we are scattered.

On a particular morning while we were at our usual spot for our usual exercise the Top 10 group came to the place, well fortified with charms and other dangerous weapons and begin to harass us.

On this day it happened coincidentally that there was a little axe with us, and since we knew that they were fortified with charms one of us decided to pick up the littler axe just as a mechanism for defense.

From that day onward we decided to be walking with this little axe in other to protect ourselves from any unforeseen attack and with this development we were labeled as “Gbo vikigii aaba”, which by interpretation means “those with small axe”.

This development gave birth to arms battle in Bodo-city because we were believed by those who sponsored our harassment to be the foot soldiers of an opponent.

Another person we interviewed still on anonymity maintained that the vikigii Aaba group was latter used by a politician in the community to harass and intimidate his opponent in the general election of 1999 and 2003.

He said that the group became a force which helped this particular politician and those who belong to his camp to win Elections, and that after the victories at the pool these boys were heavily rewarded by their master.

Another of our interviewee informed us that the ‘Vikigii Aaba’ group was not a cult group and neither was it affiliated to any cult group, but however maintained that some members of the group were cultists who belong to one cult group or another.

We hope you find this Article Helpful. We should learn not to make the mistakes that claim so many lives in the past. Many Politicians are still looking for destined youths to turn into thugs!

Be Wise!