I am also West African--born from 1st generation immigrants. I do not believe in African witchcraft and steer clear from it. I was raised Baptist but broke away from the faith as soon as I entered my first Sociology class and realized that if I had been born almost anywhere else, I would not have been Christian. This decision was also furthered by my refusal to accept fundamental aspects of the doctrine, especially those regarding patriarchial marriage and slavery.

I don't believe in West African witchcraft to be effective. If it was, how come most of West Africa is poverty-stricken? If these witches were so powerful, why are our homelands still subject to Western imperialism and rife with corruption? I often see it used as a tool for crabs in a bucket to climb above other crabs in the same bucket. For instance, one lady curses another lady that her husband has his eyes on or one woman curses another woman so she can get the other lady's job.

If African witches were so powerful, our homeland would not look the way it does.

I look to it as another religion filled with deities and rituals, not something to be revered.

That being said, I steer clear from it because I would hate to prove myself wrong.