If you grew up in the South Western part of Nigeria you would know about Shopona the dreaded god. It is not unusual for old folks to swear by Shopona or curse you with Shopona.
How did Shopona come to be?
Shopona is the god of smallpox. Smallpox was a dreaded disease those days and an epidemic which was periodic would kill in droves.
Citizens soon discovered the disease was contagious and would send infected people into the forbidden forest with a warning not to look back.
Being a viral disease a few of the afflicted people would survive and develop immunity to the disease ( a concept similar to getting a vaccine).
These survivors would then turn themselves into Shopona agents/worshippers and since they could no longer be infected by the disease they would go into the villages and demand goats, food, money etc with a warning that if they are not given what they requested for, they would bring the wrath of the dreaded Shopona on the people.
Shopona worshippers fed fat on the fear of their own people.
What people fear they worship but with knowledge comes light and with light, fear disappears and faith is born.
After intensive public health efforts the World Health Organization (WHO) declared small pox eradicated in 1980 and with that the Shopona god died and her worshippers went bankrupt and out of business.
The moral of the story- With regards to your health get knowledge and you would not be taken advantage of.
The day Shopona the dreaded Yoruba god died
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