Intractable Pernicious Practices in West Africa

Abstract Spiteful practices such as human sacrifice and cannibalism have endured the abhorrence of various peoples of the world. However, European powers magnified the proportion of these activities in other parts of the world to justify their colonial agenda of subjugation and exploitation, while they equally partook of it in various shades at different times in their history. This paper, focused on West Africa, explains both the motives fuelling the intractable problems and the obstacles encysting their elimination. Although some solutions were proffered, the ingrained problem will continue to resist change.