Fetish Man ‘Babalawo’ Advertises Money Rituals On Twitter
Social media is the exclusive preserve of young millennials, shoe retailers and people with political ambitions but it now appears there’s a ‘ritualist’, Baba Kunyi, advertising his services on Twitter.
The twitter account, @BabaKunyi has been advertising money rituals without human sacrifice by posting photos of what appears to be satisfied customers with huge wads of cash and claims of quick solutions to spiritual problems
The account’s bio implores people to call a number provided within and be free from their spiritual problems.
If you want to be a bit more formal, there’s an incomplete email address in one of the tweets carrying Baba Kunyi’s rave reviews.
Although it has only two tweets, it appears the account has been active since February 2018.
One of the tweets carries a photo of what appears to be Baba Kunyi sitting over an earthenware pot with large wads of cash scattered around the room.
There’s no indication of where Baba Kunyi is located. There’s a website, babakunyi.com, but it appears to lead nowhere.
Digital marketing for Babalawos
As strange as this is, it is not the first time that a Twitter account, ostensibly belonging to a ritualist, is advertising “quick solutions to your spiritual problems” on Twitter.
Tweets from 2016 show users expressing their surprise at finding a Babalawo on their Twitter streets.
But where this other Babalawo failed, Baba Kunyi is operating with a whole new social media plan.
The account has been sending tweets at some of the most influential Nigerians on Twitter, with messages from satisfied customers.
Whether the idea is to get them to retweet, or for Wizkid to call him for special consultation, we’ll never know.
What we do know is that it’s working. While the account has only 39 followers as of the time of writing this, its second tweet already has over 300 retweets.
Most of them are out of shock, we’d suppose, more at the fact that a practice that is usually treated with discretion is being advertised so blatantly on Twitter.
Social media platforms have become fora for important conversations, news and trends over the last few years.
Within the large pool of users, vendors and businesses have also found a way to see their wares.
On Twitter, a platform built primarily for opinions expressed in the simplest terms and the conversations that unavoidably follow, any newbie would be surprised at the scale of business that is transacted.
Most Twitter users have grown familiar with the hashtag “#MyCustomerMayBeOnYourTL”.
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But nothing quite prepares you to scroll through your TL on a cool Saturday morning and see Baba Kunyi accosting you with something that immediately reminds you of Kanayo. O. Kanayoin a Nollywood movie.
Money rituals and similar practices are elements of the dark aspects of the Nigerian truth that we rarely speak about.
Traditional fetish practices are a part of most indigenous religions where they serve the purpose of offerings and supplication in the way that a Christian would pray, fast or offer alms to the less-privileged.
Nollywood has played its role in ensuring that we cannot run from this part of our culture. The local film industry regularly churns out movies where rituals and similar practices form the object of the plot.
We’re tempted to find out if Baba Kunyi does provide the service he claims to provide.
The photos he has posted reek of Instagram filters which probably means there’s someone who does not know his Instagram photos have become a marketing tool.
There’s also the chance this is the work of an internet troll or another hare-brained scheme from the stables of Twitter’s resident scum lord, Pablo Ayodeji.
Since I put pen to paper on this, Baba Kunyi has added 8 more followers to his Twitter account.
Troll or not, business is moving for Twitter’s resident Babalawo.