By – Josephine Agbonkhese

Once upon a time, love spell vendors were discrete about their trade. They weren’t known to publicly market their wares; not to talk of making an appearance in a video on the internet, displaying their faces and products.

Somehow, deep within, they understood it is illegal and inappropriate to force love on anyone. Thus, the business was well shrouded in secrecy. But that was in the past.

Along with every other legitimate business since COVID-19, love spell vendors have taken to major social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, to market their products to potential customers.

“Special Package”: Bold Moves of Daredevil Side Chicks

A recent video by one of such vendors, Deborah Erioluwapo Ajayi, with the Instagram username @omosholas_place, which went viral on Instagram, has generated mixed feelings among members of the public.

Twenty- three year-old Ajayi, in that video, displayed a box which she described as a “Special Package”, containing products specially made based on clients’ request. The Special Package, according to her, is formulated for use strictly only on the bearer of the name presented and used for its preparation—and preparing each package takes two weeks. Though the price wasn’t specified, the product is rumoured to cost quite a fortune—but affordable for anyone desperate.

That video has continued to spark debates among members of the public, especially married women who fear their husbands’ mistresses or admirers might take advantage of the trending “modern juju” to further enthrall their men and milk them of their financial fortune.

love potion bottle with valentine card message vector illustration

This is because most side chicks prey on their targets for material gains. Most dangerous however about these mistresses is the tendency to desire more—such as causing their targets to lose total control of their senses. In many instances, this has caused men under their influence to strangely develop utter dislike for their wives and children, or even abandon their families completely.

Due to the mode of transmission of these spells, which can either be through sex or other forms of enchantment, the trend is anticipated to be more threatening for men with roving eyes; those with an unquenchable desire for hanging out with anything in skirt—including totally strange women. Unfortunately, many men fall into this category irrespective of religion, age, social or marital status.

Meanwhile though, some other married women simply see love spell vendors as another online fraud aimed at extorting money from unsuspecting individuals.

A few, however, feel that their spiraling online presence changes nothing.

“It doesn’t worry me in any way. I feel they change nothing. A man that wants to be snatched will be snatched. There’s no need worrying my head over such a man,” retorted Mrs Ijeoma Thomas-Odia, a young media practitioner.

Thomas-Odia, who told Vanguard Allure that every spell has an expiry date, said anyone casting a love spell on a man, whether single or married, is embarking on a futile journey as someday, the enchantment will certainly wear off. Asked if she would beef up her prayer life to be able to counter the possible effects of such spells on her husband, she says: “Beef up my prayer life? I don’t get it. I will keep praying for my husband and children the same way I’ve been praying for them. Beef up prayer life over a mature man? No! He is not a baby.

“I blame women sometimes for the misbehaviour of some men. I came across a social media post asking either partners whether they would leave if they find their spouse cheating. You needed to see the responses of women: ‘Leave him? No way, we die there!’

Do you see it? That’s why we are in this societal mess. “The men know they can get away with any nonsense. Imagine having to tolerate all the nonsense many husbands do and still having to use all of one’s power to pray against mistresses and side chicks! I don’t pray such ill-luck on my marriage but it’s not worth it,” she said.

Another, Mrs Antonia Duru, CEO, FACS Organic Herbs & Spices, also told Vanguard Allure she never felt troubled personally about the trend.

“I am not worried about myself. Somehow though, when I heard about this trend, I was worried about the kind of problems many men bring into their homes with their uncontrollable desires. These women they go after, are the same women that will execute some spiritual acts that will bring problems into the lives of their children,” she explained.

Like Thomas-Odia, Duru also pointed out that such charms never deliver lasting love.

She said: “Nobody can take my husband away. It’s not possible. I do tell people that I didn’t look for a husband or give one to myself. God Himself gave him to me freely. So, I believe nothing, nor any strange woman, can take him away. For any woman that feels bothered about these trending modern “juju”, I will say focus on your children if God has blessed you with any, and focus on your career or business as well. You cannot die because of a man. It’s not worth it at all.

“For the men, I will say be wise. If you like, continue looking for trouble outside. When the trouble you’ve been looking for comes, you will carry it. My pain is that such men come crawling back to their wives and children with their ‘used’ bodies after everything.”

The concern, for Mrs Jennifer Okafor, a banker almost in her 40s, is the gross disregard for human dignity that is fast eating deep into the society. For her, one who understands she deserves true love and nothing less, will not stoop so low to using a love spell. Unless she is only interested in milking whoever the target is; which is criminal.”

Examining the issue from a spiritual perspective, a cleric, Pastor Orisejobor, described love spells such as Special Package as satanic and reiterated that women must learn to pray for their husbands.

“It’s very wrong and sinful to cast anything on someone for him or her to love a person. Even God Himself loves us freely. Love is a natural phenomenon that flows freely and is also given freely by God. What anyone who desires love should do is to pray.

“For the married ones, they should tell God they want their husbands to love them the more, and He will help them achieve that. They don’t need a spell at all; these things backfire. The unmarried ones too should ask Him for a partner that truly loves and cares about them. God gives love freely. It is satanic to use a love spell on anyone”

Clearing the air on the potency of love spells, Orisejobor advised that partners thread cautiously and remain prayerful.

“Most of these things work. We hear about them from time to time and see families that have been destroyed by them. That’s also why we see them in movies. Wives should be prayerful too. Every wife must be prayerful. There are a lot of things that sustain homes and marriages, and prayer is one of such pivotal tools,” she added.

While it is advisable that men thread cautiously and make efforts to stay away from strange women, the importance of prayer, as emphasised by Pastor Orisejobor, cannot be undermined. This is as, in most cases, it is these side chicks who prey on these married men, contrary to the belief of most of our respondents. They appear to carefully choose these men, not necessarily for love, but For the material things they possess; they are therefore known for pursuing comfortable men who can provide them the good things of life. Thus, majority of their preys are controlled with a spell from the onset.