[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hile there may be fewer spiritual healers operating in Nigeria than there were a few decades ago, there is still talk of these healers practising their trade in the more rural parts of the country. Spiritual healers tend to eschew commonly-used medicine in favor of more traditional methods and appeal to people who believe that the body can be cured with magical techniques and voodoo. This appears to be a somewhat dying trade, but there could be a chance that it is revitalized in an online setting.
Are Spiritual Healers Still Operating in Nigeria?
According to reports online, spiritual healers are still prevalent in areas where cultural activities are still held in high regard and where Christianity did not fully blend with the people there. This means that they are usually found in rural areas and hardly ever encountered in urban regions. The Ibibio people, for instance, are known to still hold a heavy faith in voodoo. These people are found in the south of the country around Akwa Ibom, Cross River, and the eastern part of Abia.
Spiritual healers use charms and trinkets, along with chants, natural herbs and numerous other techniques in order to treat their patients. In many parts of Africa, there is still a strong belief in this type of healing. However, as more parts of Nigeria become gentrified, the practice could end up dying out within the next few decades unless its practitioners adapt to modern technology.
Spiritual Healers Could Find Inspiration From the Psychic Industry
Spiritual healers are traditionally associated with being hands-on in what they do, having to assess their patients manually in order to get to the root of the problem. This feels like something that couldn’t be done online, because the distance may not allow them to get a solid read on their patient. However, the same could have been said for psychics in the past, as they have also been traditionally linked with working on a face-to-face basis.
Nowadays, psychic healing is enjoying a resurgence online. People who want to talk to an expert in the field can log onto the internet for a psychic chat with respected, expert readers. They are able to gather a lot of the information they need purely through conversation, showing that it works as a distance trade. Spiritual healers in Nigeria could take inspiration from this and try to achieve the same results.
Internet Availability Becoming More Widespread
Internet use is spreading across Nigeria and the online world is now accessible to a greater number of people than ever. 42 percent of the population now has access to the internet, up from 11.5 percent in 2010. This figure highlights the rapid increase, and it seems like it won’t be long before the internet reaches even the most rural locations. When this comes to fruition, spiritual healers may find that they can modify their skills for online clientele.
Spiritual healers may be going out of style in Nigeria and confined to the rural lands, but there is a chance they could make a resurgence if they adapt to modern technology. It could become a viable trade online if it follows in the footsteps of psychic reading.
