Abstract
Prayer, with the use of religious symbols, has been an instrument in spiritual warfare along the Lagos–Ibadan expressway, as many believed in the influence of spiritual attacks that must be countered with warfare prayers. While scholars have examined new religious movements and space contestation on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, how religious devotion and divine protection represent security for many, and fears of demonic possession/witchcraft represent insecurity for others, adequate attention has not been paid to the use of prayers and religious symbols as forms of spiritual security on highways. Thus, this article employs qualitative methods to examine the use of spiritual symbols and warfare prayers, alongside their effectiveness as forms of spiritual security, on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. The article concludes that circumstances on both the material and supernatural levels lead citizens to take actions to reduce the risk of accidents on the highways in Nigeria.
Introduction
Prayer is an essential element of spiritual warfare practiced in every religion. Through prayer, religious adherents have the power to tilt the “balance of power” of world affairs in their favor, and by the use of warfare prayer, they also can control both the spiritual and physical realms to their advantage. Warfare prayer is rooted in the indigenous African worldview that the existence of evil spirits or forces interferes with human activities and their lived realities in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nevertheless, religious adherents are equipped with theological weapons (prayers) to wrestle power in the physical and non-physical realms. Although spiritual warfare is theologically ambivalent (Marshall 2016, 108), it is also a human confrontation with unseen forces and presences, and their spectacular dramatization impresses the psyche (Adelakun 2022, 2). The prayer modes discursively battle against the devil and his human agents embedded in social and spiritual spaces, and whose activities impinge on social flourishing. Equally, spiritual warfare means “cutting the chains of captivity” of social existence, “returning the light of Being” to the poor on the edge of nonexistence and sustaining an alternative world of freedom (Wariboko 2015, 121).
It is important to note that warfare prayer entails a wide range of spiritual exercises that include engaging the enemy and using aggressive confrontation in a communicative approach, alongside warfare songs. Warfare prayer encompasses spiritual discipline like confronting the enemy, assertive communication, singing warfare songs, and scripture declaration, utilizing militaristic language to manifest victory in the physical realm (Adelakun 2022; Adogame 2004; DeBernard 1999; Fatokun 2006, 2009; Jorgensen 2005; Omobowale and Oyelade 2017; Oyelade Olufikayo 2018; Stritecky 2001). Warfare prayer manifests the inner feelings about life, a socially constructed spiritual performance in religious and secular spheres.
Additionally, warfare prayer is a spiritual battle that involves human agents using mystical weapons. These weapons operate in the spiritual realm through prayers to overpower and conquer demonic forces and authority that manipulate the physical affairs of man. Thus, for human agents to be victorious, the individual must “offer violent prayers from the physical world, launching spiritual missiles, into the supernatural world to achieve the manifest desired result in the physical world” (Oyelade and Omobowale 2023, 3). Hence, it is a definitive declaration to effectively subjugate power against diabolical forces from taking charge of both spiritual and physical realms.
The ability to take charge of both realms is based on the understanding that the world has two sides with forces such as good and evil, light and dark forces. This statement aligns with “the Yoruba philosophical thought: ‘Tibitire ni a da ile aye,’ which translates to the world (or life) being a fusion of evil and good.” Also, according to the Yoruba scientific study of the universe, “there are eight agents of evil” (Abimbola 2004, 76). They are Iku (death), arun (disease), ofo (loss), egba (paralysis), oran (trouble), epe (curse), ewon (bondage), and ese (sin that leads to accident or any other evil). Thus, the world naturally projects both bad and good (Awoniyi 2008), believing that these two sides in world affairs affect people simultaneously, and human beings must recognize the presence of evil that can terminate a life. In reality, a religious (or spiritual) person has to be sure that all forms of negativity do not affect him by countering it with warfare prayers and every spiritual weapon because diabolical forces and human agents are unrelenting and debilitating (Ayegboyin 2005, 37).
Since many believers in Nigeria are involved in constant battles with spiritual forces, the weapons of warfare cannot be carnal (since it is not a physical battle) but spiritual. Access to spiritual weapons comes from God, who is more powerful and potent to destroy any barrier or fortification against having a successful journey. Hence, the result of spiritual warfare and its lived realities is about redirecting, determining human and transcendent affairs to save lives (Oderinde 2022, 28). Likewise, it is about fighting adversaries, driving away from negativity and experiences by attracting life improvement (Mathisen 1993, 229), and living a victorious life in a world full of strange occurrences.
Prayer and religious symbols are examples of lived religion in Nigeria. They are essential tools while driving on the expressway in Nigeria, as passengers use religious symbols as divine protection to secure a safe trip. Many passengers believe unpleasant situations are beyond human understanding or scientific explanations, motivated by certain invisible powers (Oyelade and Omobowale 2023, 17) that cause frequent accidents on the Lagos–Ibadan expressway. Thus, evil forces are countered by warfare prayer (Wagner 1993, 197). Likewise, religious symbols are spiritual weapons to enhance peace and security while travelling. For instance, at the 1989 Lausanne II Congress in Manila, the movement emphasized diverse stages and procedures of spiritual warfare. “Ground-level” spiritual warfare represents the most basic tier of practice, focusing on individual struggles such as personal sin, moral failings, private afflictions, and domestic issues. After that is the “Occult level,” “whose targets included New Age spirituality, symbols associated with ‘paganism’ or ‘idolatry,’ and other ‘false’ spiritual or religious traditions” (Marshall 2016, 100). The last level is called the “Cosmic level,” or “Strategic level,” in which its objective is “to bind and bring down spiritual principalities and powers that rule over governments” (Wagner 1996, 198; Otis 1993; Jacobs 1994; Marshall 2016).
Therefore, this article examines the “different levels and techniques of warfare prayer adopted by the Lausanne Movement of 1989” (Wagner 1996, 198) to explain certain religious symbols used by religious adherents when embarking on a journey along the Lagos–Ibadan expressway. Also, investigation of certain religious symbols used by religious adherents when embarking on a journey proffers possible solutions to this research problem. As a result, the researchers try to understand what makes the Lagos-Ibadan expressway unsafe despite the reliance on spiritual protection, such as prayers, mantles, and other religious paraphernalia used by commuters and drivers as shields against any evil occurrences. Amidst the lived realities of Nigerian commuters along the Lagos–Ibadan expressway, the article tries to fill the research gaps by analyzing the following questions: how do commuters see spiritual symbols and warfare prayers as a means of safety along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway? What cultural and religious factors influence the use of spiritual symbols and warfare prayers? How do commuters perceive the effectiveness of spiritual symbols and warfare prayers in ensuring safety? The discussion begins with a theoretical explanation of Lived Religion. This is followed by a conceptual explanation of symbols and religious symbols as spiritual capital. A presentation of the method employed for data collection connects with the research questions guiding this study. Subsequent sections unpack the analysis of symbols as spiritual capital and also discuss the results of ethnographic fieldwork along the Lagos–Ibadan expressway. The analysis shows how the praxis of spirituality/religion is lived and experienced by commuters along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway daily.
Theoretical framework
For many Nigerians, the mixture of spiritual praxis with mundane activities, such as transportation, is embedded in our daily lives to understand seemingly inexplicable occurrences. Therefore, this study adopts the concept of Lived Religion (Hall 1997, 50) to understand the use of warfare prayer and religious/spiritual symbols as spiritual security by commuters along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. In his book, Lived Religion in America, David Hall argues that Lived Religion is the practice of faith outside the confines of religious institutions. Using the example of Lived Religion, Oderinde Peter corroborates the argument of Elisabet Haakedal that Lived Religion is religion lived through the layers of everyday practice that all so-called explicit life feeds on (Oderinde 2022, 53). These scholars surmise that “practices shape the perception of constructing our world, for in each person’s mind there are some forms of creative imagination amid everyday practices that lead to certain life expectations” (Haakedal 2008; Oderinde 2022). This is similar to the daily experience rather than the applicability of a set of religious dogmas or what commuters profess to believe in Nigeria. For many commuters, spiritual praxis revolves around prayer rituals but may include other protective symbols that supposedly prevent accidents and other road misfortunes, such as kidnappings and police harassment.
Conceptual analysis of symbols and religious symbols as spiritual security
Religious symbol, which is also called iconography, is a representation that is embedded with sacred meanings. It is also an expression of one’s beliefs and practices of a religion that possesses four characteristics. The first is its metaphoric quality. This suggests that the carrier of the symbol is more concerned with its internal codified meaning than the physical representation itself. In that case, a symbol can itself serve as a higher-order status. So, “the written character can be called a symbol for the word and the word a symbol for its meaning” (Tillich 1958, 3).
For this article, handkerchiefs (mantles) and other religious symbols, such as bumper stickers and inscriptions, on both the material and supernatural levels, are techniques of prayer warfare. For instance, a handkerchief (white) has a figurative quality. White signifies purity, and most people who use white handkerchiefs are perceived as a sign of maturity or cleanliness. This is not a symbol but rather the virtue of the symbol that people associate with whiteness. However, a white handkerchief can be a symbol of a higher rank in religion when prayed on by a spiritual person. Hence, the status of the handkerchief will change from a mere social status symbol to a higher spiritual paraphernalia.
The next is its perceptibility. This suggests that “a spiritual essence can be given a perceivable form” (Tillich 1958, 4). The perceptibility of such a symbol need not be sensuous. For instance, the rosary or crucifix is a religious symbol that is mostly part of the dress of some religious adherents (Catholic adherents), which they make visible for others to see. However, this article argues that religious adherents make these religious symbols visible, though they possess innate power and are subject to interpretations by the public, as some may perceive them as fashion and to others as forms of spiritual security.
The innate power constitutes the third trait of symbols (Tillich 1958, 16). This implies that the symbols have an inherent power that distinguishes such power from a mere sign, which is impotent. Thus, based on the example of the rosary, crucifix, or any other religious symbol, they possess an innate power that is different from every other social, civil, political, or economic symbol. This is because the moment any symbol is attached to religion, such a symbol has changed its status from physical to divine and also from impotence to potency.
The fourth characteristic is the acceptability of symbols (Tillich 1958). This implies that symbols are “socially rooted and socially supported” (Tillich 1958, 16). Every religious symbol is religiously and socially rooted, supported, and acceptable. Though religious symbols are distinguished from others by the fact that they are representations of that which is unconditionally beyond the conceptual sphere, they point to the ultimate reality implied in the religious act, to what concerns us ultimately (Tillich 1958, 17).
Methodology
The study adopts a qualitative approach, while the research design is both explorative and ethnographic. An explorative research design allows in-depth understanding of the use of spiritual symbols and warfare prayers for protection and safety along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Ethnographic design encouraged flexibility of such information on spiritual symbols and prayers (cultural and religious influences) and also provided insights into their perceived effectiveness as commuters make their daily trips. Given the informal nature of public parks and transportation, we used an unstructured interview approach. Observations and unstructured interviews took place in parks and in both private and public transport, primarily on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. We conducted the interviews at Berger Park, Lagos State and the Redemption City ground motor park along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway to understand the perspectives of the drivers and passengers using spiritual security as a defense while driving. We used participant observations to extract information during informal conversations with passengers in public or private transport. The ethnographical study was carried out over two years (2022-2024). The opportunity to reside in Lagos and Oyo States allowed us (the researchers) to commute to work (Lead City University, Ibadan) daily by public or private transportation. Participant observations in both circumstances were quite different. Due to the number of passengers and the comfort of privately owned vehicles, passengers are more relaxed and often pray to themselves. In public buses, passengers often listen to gospel music on their phones and pray aloud, regardless of whether they are Muslim or Christian.
We use aliases to describe individuals (travelling in private vehicles) who participated in group discussions and others who participated in personal interviews. It is interesting to note that most cars and buses have bumper stickers that display their religious affiliations, favorite pastors/imams, positive confessions, and prayer points. Some buses also display images that signify traditional protection on their vehicles or engines. Although it is important to state that by the “so-called” completion of the 120 kilometer road and the end of ethnographic research in 2024, the Lagos-Ibadan expressway remains dangerous.
Data analysis
The discussion begins with a testimonial excerpt of a Christian believer in one of the Pentecostal churches in Nigeria on the potency of the use of a sanctified white handkerchief turned into a spiritual mantle.
Healed of kidney infection via the mantle!
In 2019, I noticed my six-year-old daughter was adding weight. Her legs and stomach were swollen. So, I took her to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with a kidney infection, and as a result, she hardly went to the toilet. However, last week, I was invited to this church for a miracle service by my boss, and during the service, after the mantle was blessed, I immediately touched my daughter’s head with it, and she said her stomach was turning. Lo and behold, since last week, she has not been on any drug or treatment, and all tests have been negative for the disease. Now, she is healed and well. I return all the glory to God!
1
The recipients of the blessing (both mother and child) in the excerpt believed that God can work wonders during a miracle service, hence the belief that the mantle had been imbued with supernatural powers by the spiritual leader, resulting in the restoration of her child’s health. It is important to state that a “mantle” is a spiritual piece of cloth that symbolizes a life of commitment to God’s service. It signifies a call (being anointed) into ministry or a gift given to an individual by God. It also has a biblical description (1 Kings 19:19; 1 Kings 19:13; 1 Kings 2:13; 1 Kings 2:8) and a spiritual weapon. The mantle symbolizes the presence of God in the physical realm, acting as a spiritual protection that rests upon a believer to exercise a degree of authority over evil forces and manifestations. It is a sanctified white (mostly) handkerchief, but when anointed and prayed over by a spiritual leader, it turns into a prophetic mantle for impartation, divine protection, deliverance, and healing. It is equally used to “kill” and destroy all supernatural forces and evil. The mantle also connects a believer to the virtue and grace that the prophet carries, so that whatever answers to the prophet also answers to the carrier of the mantle. Some religious adherents go out with their mantle, especially when embarking on a journey. Some hang the mantle around the inner mirror of their vehicles, or in a strategic place in their car, such as pockets, bags, or around their necks. For believers, the mantle can prevent any spiritual attack or save them from accidents. This is because it acts as the presence of God. Concisely, the important thing for believers is “do not go out without your mantle.”
Religious bumper stickers
Through discourse and content analysis, Chiluwa categorizes religious bumper stickers into three groups: “social vision, group identity, and reaffirmation of faith. The analytical categories are bound to overlap due to the religious context in which the bumper stickers operate in Nigeria” (Chiluwa 2008, 377). Nevertheless, the reaffirmation of faith category speaks more about how Nigerians use religious bumper stickers as spiritual security in their daily routine. Many of these bumper stickers tend to re-enact scriptures with simplified paraphrases or short excerpts from the Bible intended to offer quick encouragement. Religious bumper stickers that falls into this group include: “Blood of Jesus I am covered by the blood of Jesus When I see the blood, I will pass over God is with us Allah Akbar No weapon fashioned against me shall prosper Satan, keep off! Danger Zone! Keep off, angels on guard I am a winner!” (Chiluwa 2008, 377)
Chiluwa further analyses this category of religious bumper stickers into three subdivisions:
(1) as a discursive practice of religious testimony in which religious adherents make particular reference to their religious founders (or leaders) of religions in form of observing their teaching, works, or personality (2) it is an indication of the institutional practice of proselytization by those that love to evangelize (3) those whose believe is based on philosophical and institutional postulations that God has power to influence the world (Chiluwa 2008, 377). However, the category of religious bumper stickers is used as a form of spiritual protection against theft, damage, and other spiritual forces. For instance, the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) logo is ubiquitous (see behind the vehicle in Figure 1) on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. RCCG bumper-sticker along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Religious logos and inscriptions (see Figure 1) are markers of identity that have religious significance, such that adherents “attach credit to these religious symbols with supernatural abilities to deter criminals or safeguard vehicles from crashes. It wards off malevolent entities like witches and wizards while simultaneously drawing in blessings, miracles, fortune, and prosperity” (Ukah 2008, 289).
The idea of religious logos is to establish contact with the sacred, and in this way, the logo, inscriptions printed, designed, or carved, serve both spiritual and social purposes (Ukah 2008, 289). In fact, after the purchase of vehicles, religious adherents take such vehicles to their spiritual leader for prayers before using them. Physical security apparatuses installed on vehicles, such as car trackers, are for extra spiritual security required on the Nigerian road. For instance, while observations along Lagos-Ibadan expressway show bumper stickers like “Blood of Jesus,” and “When I see the blood, I will pass over” relate to divine protection against physical or spiritual manipulation, bumper stickers like “Satan keep off! Danger Zone!” and “Keep off, angels on guard” speak about spiritual protection, but much more about spiritual warning and a sign of the adherent’s spiritual boldness. “I am a winner!” signifies religious affiliation and positive confession that reassures the car owner of his/her Christian heritage and signifies victory over evil. The theory of Hall (1997) and examples of Haakedal (2008) exemplify outward spiritual expressions, such as the use of spiritual bumper stickers that are combined with traditional beliefs, as shown in the figure below, to display how religion is lived by highway users in Nigeria.
Figure 2 shows three types of spiritual inscriptions and examples of how religion is lived by commercial drivers along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Figure 1 is a privately owned vehicle of an RCCG member, and Figure 2 is a commercial vehicle driving on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. The second picture in Figure 2 is the interior of the commercial vehicle showing the sticker of an Islamic Sheikh from Senegal, a charismatic religious leader who was reported to be related to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and a traditional charm. Picture 2 in Figure 2 has some syncretic elements attached to spiritual security on the highway in Nigeria. Importantly, Figure 2 shows the combination of traditional beliefs with an Islamic inscription that says: “God is Great” and the veneration of an Islamic cleric. This shows a unique aspect of how religion is lived, showing a pattern of syncretic beliefs by fusing beliefs, values, and customs of African traditional practices into Islam while embarking on a journey on the Lagos–Ibadan expressway. It also explains the deeply rooted influence of African worldviews on understanding protection in the daily realities of commercial drivers in Nigeria. Arabic inscription meaning Allah, an Islamic figure, and a charm-like object.
Incidentally, the law enforcement arrested the driver of the vehicle shown in Figure 2 on the allegations of non-conformance to highway rules that forbid driving without seat belts for drivers and passengers occupying the front seats. Eventually, the driver of the vehicle in Figure 2 paid a bribe of #10,000 (approximately $4) and was released shortly afterwards. The situation aroused the interest of the passengers, and discussions surrounding religious bumper stickers, charms, prayers, politics, and the economy ensued. We, the researchers, asked the driver: Are the charms and bumper stickers inscribed on your vehicle not reliable enough to prevent the incidence of arrest for breaching traffic rules? He responded with the opinion that: I am happy you asked. I have a charm in my pocket called “Aluwo” (hit and fall). If I hit them, they will fall! I was not on the highway, yet they arrested me, but I trust God to serve him judgment.
The driver of the bus provided some interesting angles that align with the research questions on safety on the highway with the use of spiritual symbols and charms along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. The driver not only had protective bumper stickers against ground-level occurrences of evil, but he also had charms against any physical harassment from anyone, including the police. According to the excerpt, despite flouting both Federal and State traffic rules, the driver chose not to use “Aluwo” since he believes in God. However, the question is which God did he believe in?
We also observed that a woman sitting next to them had started worshipping in songs before the incident. One of us asked after a series of conversations and prayer: I heard you singing gospel music silently before the incident happened. You wanted to pray for specific reasons, such as what happened now?
Mrs Chukwu mentions that: As we started the journey, I said to myself, we will pray before we approach the highway. So, I just wanted to make the calls I needed to make before the vehicle got to the expressway. In my mind, I wanted to finish my worldly activities before asking people in the vehicle to commit our journey into the hands of God. This was what I had in mind! When that happened, I said to myself, What kind of coincidence is this? Or have I disobeyed God? Should I not have prayed before leaving the park or before the expressway? I was just deliberating in my mind if we ought to have prayed because I wanted to make quick calls before the expressway as against the will of God.
The excerpt shows that prayer is the most essential tool for every traveler on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Throughout the ethnographic observation, passengers always observe their prayers. Mrs Chukwu further mentions that everyone believes in a superior being in Nigeria, and the spiritualists also need protection. The bravado of the driver was no surprise to the passengers in the vehicle since anyone can claim to have supernatural or divine protection. In the excerpt, Mrs Chukwu blamed herself for not promptly heeding the call of the Holy Spirit. However, she hinted that she would have accepted a charm from a traditionalist for protection without believing that non-Christians in the vehicle would also support her supplication to God for mercy on her journey.
The application of anointing oil on the lived realities of Christians
The use of anointing oil is an essential religious practice for most Christian adherents. The pouring of oil on an item or body part, often on the head, is called anointing. It possesses some mystical properties that act as a (fitting) symbol of the Spirit, or spiritual principle of life, by its power to sustain and fortify vital energy. It is believed that anointing oil is prepared according to divine instructions and, therefore, a symbol of the Spirit of God as the principle of spiritual life which proceeds from God. The powers in the symbol also fill the natural being of the creature with the powers of divine life (Ansah 2021, 11).
It is the paranormal power of God given to a believer to take on an assignment for God. Thus, when the anointing comes upon a person, his/her natural inabilities are displaced, and the only thing that matters is the power of God in the life of the person (Anaba and Gifford 1996, 56). This explanation helps to understand that anointing makes a difference in any circumstances and that it is not only an enabler for people to take on God’s tasks but also brings the presence of God into any situation believers find themselves in to achieve whatever they believe God can do.
Anointing oil is applied to individuals, whether living or dead, to purify them from spiritual or demonic influences. This may be the reason why some adherents use anointing oil to get rid of negative spiritual influences before travelling or plying the road in any vehicle. There are practical dimensions of the anointing: anointing for battle, anointing for conquest, anointing for wealth, anointing for enthronement, and anointing for restoration (Oyedepo 2005, 124). An ethnographic study reveals that some commuters embarking on a journey along the Lagos–Ibadan expressway use anointing oil for battle against people with evil intentions or blood-sucking demons that usually cause accidents on that road. Hence, anointing oil is a superior and supernatural identity and empowerment by God bequeathed on a believer that serves as a mark of distinction and exception from evil fabrication.
Ansah (2021, 11) explains “the usage of anointing oil among Charismatic and Neo-Prophetic churches in Kumasi, Ghana.” They include therapeutic usage, oil for deliverance, oil for marriage and childbirth, oil for business and prosperity, oil for empowerment for work of ministry, oil for vengeance, and spiritual warfare. The use of oil for vengeance and spiritual warfare is significant to this study. Anointing oil is used to wage a spiritual battle against unseen enemies that might make journeys unsuccessful. Some respondents (Mr and Mrs John) said that their spiritual leader often instructs them to rub the anointing oil on their vehicles as a preventive measure against accidents and unnecessary faults. In addition, ethnographic observation along the Lagos–Ibadan expressway revealed that some commuters do apply the anointing oil on vehicles, on their head, or rub it on their body to quench the fiery darts of the enemy, to exempt them from any eventualities, and to exact vengeance.
An ethnographic review: Prayer use, risk, and safety along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway
The weapons of spiritual warfare for spiritual security are prayers, and not carnal. Spiritual warfare prayers are violent spiritual interventions to break the interference of evil forces. The approach must be vehement to depose any spiritual princedom that can debar an individual’s progress or success. Such is the perception among religious commuters who ply the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Nigerians believed in the existence of evil forces and their operation in the affairs of human beings. Thus, prayers are offered before and during embarking on a journey along the Lagos–Ibadan expressway. Such prayers are systematically done not only to wage war against any evil forces that might impede the success of a trip but also to destroy any spiritual stronghold on the road. So, these prayers seek to performatively overthrow the enemy that actively works against social flourishing, to disestablish these forces from the places they have been founded (Adelakun 2022, 2). Hence, the necessity to invoke spiritual warfare prayers alongside religious symbols to bind any evil forces that can cause any form of accident on the journey.
The ritual of warfare prayers on Nigerian roads explains the context of physical insecurity, social instability, and economic precarity plaguing the country. In other words, this study argues that the challenges of underdevelopment and the weakness of the state’s apparatuses to provide basic amenities for its citizens contributed to the reliance on prayers as a security capital.
It is customary to pray before the start of an event, either formal or informal. It also applies to newly acquired and used automobiles (tokunbo). Therefore, praying before embarking on a journey is seen as a way to ask for God’s intervention and protection against (ground level) accidents, kidnappings, robbery, police and road safety extortions, and other unforeseen (cosmic or strategic level) circumstances that may hinder a safe and successful trip. In addition, prayer is a way to express gratitude for the opportunity to travel and seek blessings for the journey ahead. Praying before travelling is deeply ingrained in Nigerian culture and is often seen as an integral part of preparing for a safe and successful trip. As such, prayers and other spiritual capital aimed at cosmic forces against personal, social, and economic progress are initiatives toward addressing existential realities. The pervasiveness of prayer as a form of defence or spiritual capital against temporal and non-temporal realities is “the master key” to all problems.
Results and discussion
Warfare prayers for safety along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway
There are different means of transportation in Lagos and Ibadan. However, this research categorizes the means of the road transportation industry into two: public and private road transportation. The public transport vehicle number plates are marked in red but comprise the state-controlled and the drivers’ association road operations. The Lagos state government controls the Bus Mass Transit (BRT) marked in color blue (strictly for Lagos state road transportation), while the association’s transport outlets maintain the color yellow on cars and buses (danfo). The interstate buses plying the Lagos–Ibadan expressway are painted white. The private car industry comprises privately owned transport companies and individual drivers surviving through means of road transportation. There are also different options for passengers to meet their daily target destinations. One of the means of road transportation is to board vehicles from the motor parks and bus stops. The second option is to get a ride from undesignated bus stops or roadsides, popularly known as soole in the southwestern part of Nigeria. The third option is the cab, which can be chartered or hired and is managed by companies such as Uber, Taxify, and Bolt. The booking options for cabs are mostly through online booking and are not popular for long-distance travelling.
Warfare prayer as spiritual security at the motor park is different from the private soole vehicles. At the motor parks, available evidence revealed that some pastors specialize in praying for people who are about to leave on a journey. Nevertheless, using both private soole and commercial vehicles requires adequate fortification through spiritual means. During a participant observation at the Redemption City along the Lagos–Ibadan expressway, Park Pastor Anna expressed such sentimentality when she mentioned that: Life is spiritual, and the spiritual controls the physical. If you believe life is spiritual, you will know it is the devil’s work to steal, kill, and destroy. The devil does not eat anything except flesh, and he derives his strength by sucking blood. He goes about on the road to get this blood for drinking. This is when an accident occurs, and the demons derive powers immediately when blood is spilt.
For safety at the motor parks, passengers are required to write their names, addresses, next of kin’s names, and phone numbers in case of a terrible eventuality. The soole vehicles are more dangerous for both the passenger and the driver. First, passengers and drivers have little time to bargain on the fare for fear of arrest either by the police or the state’s task force. Second, drivers run the risk of arrest for illegal parking when they try to pick up passengers along the way. Third, both the intentions of the drivers and passengers may not necessarily be genuine. For instance, the passenger or driver may have the intention of robbery or kidnapping. Since the ultimate goal of warfare prayers is to disestablish a prevailing power or authority believed to be either a threat or responsible for one’s diminishment (Adelakun 2022, 3), it is of utmost importance for passengers and drivers to pray or possess certain spiritual symbol(s) before, during, and after the journey.
Commuters’ perception of how religious factors, spiritual symbols and warfare prayers impact spiritual security on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway
The Nigerian roads are littered with old, used, and accidental cars from the developed world. The conditions of such cars are re-engineered by local mechanics to fit the conditions of the Nigerian roads. Once in shape and ready to go, peculiar obstacles are preeminent on the roads. Before its construction in 2023, the Lagos-Ibadan expressway was a death trap for travelers due to the bad conditions of the road. The 120-kilometer stretch of road was familiar to Nigerians due to the numerous potholes on different sections of the road. Frequent construction on the road also causes diversions of motorists to go one-way, leading to many deaths. Despite the heavy presence of security operatives, there have been reports of robbery attacks on the road. For instance, on July 17, 2023, one of the researchers witnessed an armed robbery, making several motorists and passengers abandon their vehicles for safety. Harassment by police on the road is frequent, so much so that between Ogere, Ogun State and the Ibadan toll, there are three police checkpoints with a record number of harassment and stop and search operations. A second instance happened on July 20, 2023, when a young man known to one of the researchers was harassed in the same vehicle en route to Ibadan. The intervention of one of the researchers was met with a stiff reaction from the police, who accused the researcher of tampering with the investigation. Such are the dangers posed when driving on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
Ritualizing spiritual security in the Nigerian transportation industry is not a new phenomenon. It is an age-old culture of seeking appeasement from the Supreme Being for spiritual guidance, especially when embarking on a journey. In the African setting, religious beliefs and cultures are quite diverse. However, it is common to libate (pouring of gin or liquor) for the gods to seek directions in different situations. Before the invention of automobiles, Africans travelled through different means such as on foot, horseback, canoes, ships, caravans, palanquin (for royals and dignitaries), and donkeys. During these periods, it was also common to consult the oracles to foretell bad omens and make necessary appeasements to forestall terrible occurrences. Africans are known to be particularly religious; as a result, the motivation for such preparations was to seek the gods’ guidance. Dr Bola, in a group discussion in a personal car of the researchers en route to Lagos State, observed: When sailors travel on a ship, a bottle of gin will be broken on the deck before take-off. Just as the popular saying “pour libation.” I think anything faster than by foot is dangerous. So, nowadays, we pray before travelling to surrender ourselves to God.
In the post-colonial era, the legitimization of Abrahamic religions (Christianity and Islam) in Africa de-legitimizes indigenous African religions while seeking public recognition for validation. The antagonism arises from the perception of the Christians and Muslims that the practitiioners of traditional religion in Nigeria are demonic. In the new millennium, many people have the Bible, the Quran, or other religious symbols in their automobiles. Nevertheless, the religions in Nigeria require the use of prayer and religious symbols as a means of safety along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Similarly, Dr Bola mentions that a prayer in Yoruba traditional religion, “Ogun o ni fi eje wa we o” meaning “Ogun (the god of iron/metal) shall not bathe in our blood,” is closely linked to the use of prayers for mobility. Dr Bola further mentions that anything faster than by foot is dangerous. 2 The analogy can also be translated in English to “When Ogun is angry and thirsty for blood, we shall also not be collateral damage.” The significance (Ogun controls iron/metal) in the above prayer is the metal and iron. Hence, Ogun needs appeasement to avert the material and supernatural to avoid death by metal or iron. Religious practitioners may interpret the incidents (relating to police harassment) that happened on the July 17th and 20th, 2023 on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway differently. Under the circumstances of the events, the Christian must give thanks to the Lord for preventing a robbery and averting an encounter with the police that may have resulted in the arrest of the researchers and the young man. The Muslim will thank Allah for divine protection, but the traditional practitioner may likely turn to the god of iron (Ogun) to prevent his worshipper from getting abducted or shot by armed robbers or the police. These are strategies (prayer rhetoric) employed by religious practitioners to combat Ground Level and Cosmic circumstances.
A Motor Park Preacher (Anna) at the Redemption City along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway opines on the use of bumper stickers on automobiles: It will not work for drivers if they do not have faith in what they write [on bumper stickers]. This is not a matter of just placing bumper stickers. One must have faith and live by it because one can have bumper stickers and behave differently when no one is watching. If what the driver is doing contradicts what the bumper stickers say, it will open the door for the devil. Therefore, it is not just a matter of having bumper stickers or inscriptions on the vehicle; one must live and believe in it. We have to pray ahead! The manifestation in the physical has already been perfected in the spiritual realm. So, we have to pray ahead as Christians to know the situation on the road. This is to arrest the spiritual realm because they operate in the non-physical realm (interview with Motor Park Preacher Anna).
What Motor Park Preacher Anna alludes to is the power of prayers and the timing of their usage. For a journey, prayer is important, especially before embarking on any trip, but the excerpt above explains the fallibility of relying solely on religious symbols such as bumper stickers. Hence, righteousness is important since symbols cannot fully protect an individual from bad occurrences on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. According to Anna, the manifestation of prayer is effective in the spiritual realm, where battles mostly between good and evil occur. The description of principalities by Motor Park Preacher Anna on the road suits the “villainous” nature of Ogun (the god of iron). The description of Ogun as a “villain” by Dr Bola and Motor Park Preacher Anna as a blood-sucking spirit fits the description of agents that operate in the spiritual realm. On the Cosmic Level, blood-sucking agents such as Ogun should be spiritually arrested through prayers and symbols for safe trips.
A ground-level circumstance is preventable if the government fixes its infrastructural deficits, such as good roads, highway electrification, and adequate security. For example, Figure 3 shows the situation that occurred along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. The driver was aware that the vehicle had mechanical and electrical issues, but decided to risk the lives of the passengers from Lagos to Ibadan. The incident requires physical effort (from the government and citizens) for ground-level intervention and prayers against Cosmic Level occurrences before getting to the destination point, Ibadan. We argue that, both on material and supernatural levels, collective action is needed to reduce the risk of unnecessary harassment, kidnappings, and deaths on the highways in Nigeria. Ground Level circumstance showing passengers, researchers, and the driver pushing the public vehicle in reverse.
Conclusion
This study examines the “1989 Lausanne II Congress in Manila that placed much emphasis on warfare prayer as a weapon against demonic forces” (Wagner 1993, 198) to explain certain religious symbols used by religious adherents (both commuters and drivers) when embarking on a journey along the Lagos–Ibadan expressway. Such religious symbols include: anointing oil, mantles, bumper stickers, amulets, and other religious paraphernalia. As a result, the study reveals how the unique praxis of spirituality/religion is lived and experienced by commuters along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway daily. The reason is that Nigerian roads have many older, sometimes damaged vehicles imported from developed countries. As noted in the article, local mechanics modify these automobiles to suit Nigerian roads. Thus, the use of warfare prayer and religious symbols among commuters driving on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway is not strange but rooted in the belief that the spiritual controls the physical realm. The combination of both Ground-Level and Cosmic Levels reinforces both cultural and spiritual worldviews (Tibitire ni a da ile aye) that feed into the narrative that the activities of evil forces and their human agents can thwart a successful journey. Commuters are aware of the possibility of bad roads, speeding, unroadworthy vehicles, and the mental/psychological condition and the level of driving experience of the driver. However, they believe that all these are factors that can be used by evil forces to cause problems on the road. They think that until the spiritual cause of a problem is addressed, the physical effect of that problem will not be addressed. Drivers and passengers along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway make use of warfare prayer before embarking on the journey and equip themselves with religious symbols that they believe can either prevent the uncertainty or exempt them from the diabolical manipulation of the devil. Therefore, the antidote for a safe trip in the Nigerian transportation industry is to engage in a spiritual battle with warfare prayers and religious symbols against unseen forces as well as their schemes, manipulation, and intention.
