Okija Shrine Episode Sign Of Distrust Deficit In Institutions – Chidoka

A former minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Chief Osita Chidoka, has relived the infamous Okija Shrine Saga that occurred in 2004 stating that the sordid incident represented the level of lack of trust the citizens have in the country’s institutions mandated to administer justice.

He stated this as one of the lead paper presenters at the 7th International Conference (HYBRID) 2026 of the Accountancy Department, Faculty of Management Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Anambra State.

In his contributions to the theme of the conference, “Shaping Africa’s Future through Accounting, Governance, Technology and Sustainable Business Management”, Chidoka argued that the nation’s growth could only be achieved and sustainable when the citizens have trust in their key institutions.

He stated for instance that beyond the picture of primitivity the dead bodies of people found littering in the forest of the Ogwugwu Okija Shrine, believed to have been killed by the deities because of one dishonest conducts or the other as reported against at the shrines by persons they offended, the episode according to him represented the level of lack of trust the citizens have in the state institutions to deliver justice in their matters.

The former Corps Marshall of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) asserted that most of the ordinary citizens of this country reposed trust in either the traditional institutions or religious bodies to get justice than the state institutions like police and courts of law.

“This is why an Onitsha Main Market trader will prefer to report his or her co-trader who refused to pay him or her debt to the deities of Okija Shrine because the deity will deliver instant justice.

“But if he takes the matter to the police, the police may take money from him and also take money from the person he made report against, and, at the end of the day, will not help him or her to get justice.

“Also, sometimes, if the case gets to the court, the trial will last for several years and sometimes what you get is not justice”, Chidoka added.

He asserted that the deficit trust in the public institutions by the citizens of the country cuts across all strata.

He stated that, for instance, even the elite do not have trust in public institutions as “The elite do not send their children any more to public primary schools. You cannot find any elite who will send his child to Ekulu Primary school in Enugu for instance.This is because they don’t have trust in the public school to deliver quality education to their children.”

The executive secretary of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, Dr Rabiu Olowo, set the stage for the brainstorming conference in his keynote address as he underscored the crucial role accounting professionals play in building trust in governance.

He emphasised that beyond its “traditional role of recording, analysing and reporting financial transactions, accounting is one of the most powerful instruments for economic development because it provides the information infrastructure upon which markets, institution and governments depend.

Every successful economy was built on trust stating that investors, invest because they trust the information available to them; lenders provide credit because they trust financial reports and disclosures. Governments formulate policies because they trust economic data while citizens place confidence in institutions when transparency and accountability are evident.”

Anambra State governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, waa represented by his special adviser on Investment, Mr Christian Udechukwu while the vice-chancellor of the university, Prof Ugochukwu Bond Anyaehie and Major-General Charles Ofoche (rtd) also attended the event held at the secretariat of the university’s branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).