Family mounts pressure on man to produce his son for rituals

A man in his late 30s from the Northern Region, Tijani Ibrahim is under immense pressure from his own family to produce his 14-month-old son for traditional rituals or face the wrath of their traditional laws.

Tijani is from a royal family in Sirigu in the Savana Region into which any male-born child is mandated to undergo traditional rites meant to identify if he could be the heir to the throne.

But Tijani who underwent the same ritual as a kid has remained adamant since his son reached the required one year of age, which has set him on a warpath with his own family since.

With the full support of his wife, they have refused to allow their son to undergo the ritual which could be fatal as he could die if he fails to survive the procedure.

“The whole process is even unhealthy and very dangerous to my son’s health. I was lucky to survive even though I wasn’t chosen to be the heir but many children have died through this over the years,” Tijani bemoaned.

“I will not allow my son to do it, he does not want to be king. His life is more precious to me,” he narrated to Pulse Ghana.

So when Tijani’s wife, Habiba, and son, Ibrahim travelled recently to Europe for holidays, she refused to return to Ghana in order to keep their son away from the aggressive family who are so desperate to forcibly take the boy, leaving behind her business which generates income to support her home.

This has in turn led to massive pressure from the family elders who have threatened and warned him to produce The boy and are not leaving him to live in peace.

“My wife has made it clear he is not returning with our son unless the family changes their stance which they are not ready to do. I may be forced to also relocate if their pressure and threats get out of hand,” Tijani said.