By Stanley Seshie

Somewhere in November, we all woke up to hear the sad news. A taxi
driver stabbed his girlfriend to death, the latter a level 300 Banking
and Finance student of University of Professional Studies, UPS. Per
news report, aside the insecurity understandably associated with any
relationship and needs working on, this driver gave another reason far
more basic than the insecurity. What was the reason? According to news
report, he said they did or had blood covenant. Hmmmm. Whether that is
true or not per this case does not matter as blood covenant is a
pervasive belief, by reference or involvement in our society. There
can be no other reason to believing in blood covenant than believing
that blood is a spiritually endowered liquid in the body of humans.


Let us assume that this taxi driver talked to two persons, one
Religious and the other Non-religious. He narrated his ordeal and why
he acted the way he does. The main reason so far was the fear of
suffering the spiritual consequences of the blood covenant they did to
never leave each other whilst alive. Now the recent behaviours of the
girl are indicating that she wants to leave him, and that will subject
either of them to the likely outcomes of the covenant. So, his actions
are to be understood within the context of the covenant and its
implications should there be a breach of committment. What could be
the possible responses from the Non-religious and the Religious
person, hereafter NP and RP respectively.

The NP, upon hearing the narration of the taxi driver, would tell
him point-blank for destroying an innocent live for nothing than
superstition and baseless fear. The NP's reasons will simply be this;
look, blood does not serve as a spiritual wormhole or tunnel for any
God/Satan to watch over your relationship with that Being or colleague
human being, in this case your girlfriend. Any breach in committment
to any relationship only brings pychological and probably physical
pains, when one takes it to the extreme given the time, energy and
money one invested in. Should the girl eventually breakup with you or
you with her whilst alive, despite that superstitious act of blood
covenant, no God/Satan will come chasing you, let alone striking you
mad or with whatever for whatever reasons. Those were your unfounded
fears. There is practically nothing to fear beyond losing your lover
as painful as the latter is. Even then, with time you could overcome
the pain. Now due to this useless fears of yours from the superstition
that society remains indifferent to, you had killed someone's
daughter, the practical hope of others. If you really loved this girl
as you claimed and also think a little, you should have killed the
superstition pushing you rather than the girl. Of course, to be
directly responsible for someone's death is psychologically and
socially disturbing. Whilst the police forces will certainly deal with
the case since you have committed a crime, you must forgive yourself,
and equally seek that of her family as well. The latter, you must do
cautiously and do not give them that nonsensical reason that you did
blood covenant.

The RP, upon hearing the narration of the taxi driver, would tell
him point-blank for destroying an innocent live for probably being
under the control of demonic forces due to the covenant. The following
could be the RP's reason; look, this is a spiritual world ruled by
good and bad spirits. Blood certainly establishes spiritual contacts.
Blood covenant is like inviting any spirit to look over your
relationship. Your lives are literally in the hands of that invited
spirit. In fact, blood covenant is a spiritual covenant. My holy book
and others as well as almost all religion teach that that is the case.
That is why you must be careful with what you engage or believe in.
Nevertheless, my religion made me know that the blood covenant I
believed in, whether by involvement or reference, is the true and good
spirit backed one. This blood covenant defeats the demonic spirits
covenants, of which what you and your late girlfriend did is an
example. As it is now you need deliverance from the demonic spell from
that covenant. So join me and overcome those fears. Nothing will harm
you as far as you remain steadfast and prayerful to the God of this
covenant. There is power in the blood. Whilst the police forces will
likely deal with the case since you have committed a crime,
nevertheless my God forgives sins and shall, in fact had forgiven you
already.

Clearly, there is a marked difference in tackling the fundamental
fear of this driver, representing that of society which has to do with
the belief that blood is essentially a spiritual tunnel to the spirit
world, hence blood covenant is a spiritual relationship. Whilst the NP
condemns the blood covenant itself as relics of primitivity and
superstition, the RP "condemns" it as demonic and then prescribe
another as godly. Whilst the NP hopes that no one ever repeats that,
by involvement or reference, because it has no factual basis in
Nature, the RP believes there is a true and good-spirit backed blood
covenant and that he is part of that one. The responses in this simple
conversation between the driver and our imaginary friends are
representative of what goes on in our Ghanaian society. And we all
know the RP will carry the day. In sum, we are never condemning
superstition in Ghana. Rather, we are always prescribing another. It
is imaginable to say that the UPS girl lost her live to superstition
called blood covenant and many are equally doing so unnoticed. Who
knows if someone prescribed blood covenant to that taxi driver as the
spiritually sanctioned means of securing relationship.

Let us go into the strong room of superstiton called religion and
its encyclopedia called holy books to find out the primitive source of
the blood covenant belief. Despite their differences in practice and
worship, there is a commonality of belief to all religions and that is
the alleged spiritual essence of blood. Almost all religions teach
that. Blood is the drink and medium of contacts to the Gods. When a
Christian claims that Christiniaty is true and others false, he is
essentially saying the progression from animal (goat, sheep etc) to
human (Jesus) bloods sacrificed to Jehovah are true bloods. One must
ask whether it is false bloods offered to the God of Islam,
Traditional and Hindu among others . That must be very, very, very
ridiculous. This belief of spiritual essence of blood, leading to
blood covenant as a medium of contacting spiritual beings for whatever
purposes is so primitive and nauseating that one wonders how this
nonsense persists by reference or involvement.

We are all conversant with blood. It is the red-pigmented liquid
in the human body. It is multifunctional as far as health is
concerned. When lost uncontrollably via wound, it is likely to cause
death. As death is the likely result of severe hemorrhages, blood
transfusion saves lives. For that blood is called the fluid of life.
The fact that blood saves lives has no resemblance to the
superstitious blood sacrifice touted by religion. Blood transfusion is
not blood sacrifice. Neither is it blood covenant. Blood transfusion
involves the transfer of blood into the biological system of the
person in need. Blood sacrifice involves pouring out the blood onto
the "ground" where the bloodthirsty God is believed to be spiritually.
The latter practice believes there is a spiritual essence in or about
blood locked up in the human or animal body. Yet, the composition of
blood as known has no such thing. The red liquid in the body of me,
you, Buddha, Mohammed, Jesus and others who ever lived and will live
is not a spiritual wormhole or tunnel. It is Matter, a very
indispensable one at that. Yet, there is nothing spiritual in or about
it.

Wait, are the following running through your mind. Science cannot
explain everything. It is limited. It cannot understand let alone
explain spiritual things. These are but some positions that reinforce
the above-mentioned claims and that its denial is but a foul cry from
the inadequate and ill-equipped yet stubborn science. Who even said
you need to be a scientist, engineer to know that there is nothing
spiritual in your own blood, and hence that of others. You see science
must not have the capacity to explain everything and occurences in the
universe in order to ascertain the possibility of a claim as true or
false and as wishful thinking or fact. The little known, when properly
applied is enough. In fact that is what man had been doing all this
while and the result is the profusion and proliferation of technology.
Science is just a window via which we are looking at how Nature
behaves. Each time we do, clearly the lies of religion are over to the
observer, the honest observer.

Ghanaians love and cherish superstition. The encyclopedia called
holy books and relics of oral tradition are there to help us call
superstition mystery and temporary ignorance revelation. Society has
ossified them into our consciousness. We are actively contributing to
making people victims of superstition in the name of religion and
spirituality. Society must gather the courage to forcefully speak
against the nonsensical and stupid primitive teaching that human blood
is spiritual, and establishes spiritual covenant between God/Satan and
Man as well as among men themselves for security, forgiveness,
material and spiritual blessings here and the herafter. Blood is not a
spiritual tunnel through which to contact any God/Satan anywhere.
Blood is matter, and that is all that it is. No matter how remote it
could be, the student of University of Professional Studies, UPS was
practically a victim of superstitious practice called blood covenant.
Thanks to society, Ghanaian and African society. First the
superstition was limited to "there is power in the blood". Now
superstitous Ghanaians and Africans made a new discovery, "there is
money in the blood", so destroying lives of innocent and vulnerable
children and women especially, in the name of money-making is
saturating the system. When a nation remains indifferent to
superstition that it is a religious or spiritual nation and proudly
so, these and many more are the outcomes. I shall be back on the "new
discovery" in this spiritual essence of the blood.

Email: seshiehanku@gmail.com

Whatsapp: 0508951323