Secret Cult in Nigeria’s Tertiary Institutions: An Appraisal

By: Dennis A Soeze
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Cultism has remained a problem for tertiary institutions in Nigeria and the Larger Nigerian society since the first decade of the existence of university education in Nigeria. It has been worrisome to have children on campuses and several measures had been adopted to curb cultism some of such measures were the expulsion of the cultists caught and out right ban of cultism on campuses. The problem here is not the killings in our campuses but why the measures employed to curb cultism have failed. This paper employs the analysis approach as its research method in explaining why previous measures failed and suggested the involvement of parents in the bid to curb cultism on our campuses in Nigeria among other measures.

Secret cult activities which started in tertiary institutions in Nigeria within the first decade of the existence of university education in Nigeria, has taken different dimensions and have different and dangerous faces: Secret cults and their activities started in Nigeria universities through the activities of a small group of "rascals" at the University of Ibadan. The first of such group was the Pirates. As "Pirates", they sailed to high seas to 'prosecute' evil doers, injustice, corruption and oppression which characterized the few universities at that time (Aluede, 2000 & Oroka, 1998). It should be noted that the purpose for the formation of the groups such as the Pirates, Buccaneers and the Dragons was to fight injustice and even project the ideals of nationalism. Thus, the pioneer secret cultists saw themselves as front-runners in the fight to liberate fellow students from the oppressive forces of some of their lecturers and government machinery.
The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1979, section 35(4) defined a secret society as "... a society or association, not being solely cultural or religious body, that uses secret signs, oats, rites or symbols.

The number of secret cults on campuses is on the increase. According to Kosemani (1997), we, now know that, there are currently thirty two (32) secret societies/confraternities in our educational institutions nation-wide. Their names are as frightening as their operations. It should be noted that conflict within a group could lead to a break up. This perhaps accounts for why the number is always on the increase. The following are some of the popular ones on campuses.
Despite the fact that we have listed a number of secret cults on campuses, secret cults and their activities are not restricted to campuses. In fact, secret cults in Nigeria today cut across all classes, and different shades and pockets of them can be found almost everywhere. In the words of Oroka (1998), we can say that what we see on campuses is a microcosm of the Nigerian society, because our society harbours an interminable number of secret cults. The point being made here is that children are aware that their parents belong to traditional shrine worships such as Sango, Ogun, Obatala, Igwekala, Amadioha, Owegbe and Ogboni. In fact, children know that their parents are members of very powerful clubs and / or cults. They realize that most of their parents' income could not afford their flashy cars, the holidays abroad, the fantastic building and their ostentatious life style.

Moreover, they are aware that their Buccaneer fathers and Amazon mothers are protected against all the Laws of the land (Kosemani, 1997). He further argued that children see and hear high and powerful people discuss crime, commit crime at times get apprehended but nothing follows because every thing is settled. He was of the view that since children have seen their parents in their cult regalia, they tend to believe that their powerful and wealthy parents will protect them even when caught unleashing havoc on others. This perhaps explains why most secret cults work hard to enlist children of the rich ones. The above reason is given by Olukoya (1997) as responsible for the difficulty in the management of the menace. Seriously speaking, in Nigeria, cases abound where parents protect their children from the hands of the law.

Apart from the above, in Enugu State University, University of Benin, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and Delta State University, Abraka, inter cult clashes have resulted in the death of members. In 1992, six students were killed admits violence of secret cult fracas at the Federal Polytechnic, Oko.

A cross-section of the Nigerian mass media reported these developments (Olukoya, 1994; Olukoya, 1997 and Oroka, 1998). A lot more are happening on campuses and University communities today. That the Vice Chancellors or the University management (as used in some quarters) are often fast to disown the students is not to say that they are not happening or that our students are not involved. Many measures have been put in place to eliminate or at least reduce cultism on our campuses. They appear not to have produced reasonable results. Neither has the denial of the students or the cultists by the Vice Chancellors of the Universities they attend proven to be the solution to the problems associated with cultism. The problem therefore is: why have the measures taken so far to curb cultism on our campuses not been successful?
The authors have employed the analytical approach as their research method. This method of analysis is considered most appropriate to employ here because it will enable the researchers to actually analyse and raise vital questions on the measures that university had taken so far to curb cultism in Nigerian universities and why they appeared to have failed.

The authors would also analyse new approaches to curbing cultism in Nigeria. Since this analytical research approach lays emphasis on clarity, it will allow the reader understand how the researchers arrived at their conclusions. It could also help the reader to draw their conclusions that are different from those of the researcher based on the reader's understanding of the analysis that have been given here.
Cultism has generated a lot of fear, tension, insecurity and closure of schools. Neither the school authorities, parents, the general public nor the government have developed an acceptable framework on how to ameliorate the menace of secret cults which have continued to create insecurity to life and property in campuses.

One of the major steps school authorities have used as a measure of curbing cultism on our campuses is the expulsion of caught secret cult members. This measure has not proved to have been a viable solution to the problem, particularly as the expelled cultists easily gain admission into other universities to continue more organized secret cult activities. This has been possible because we do not have an organized admission system. Secondly, data collection and recording has not been perfected. We do not have social security numbers. Expelled students in one University can easily gain admission into another. Another reason why we cannot consider expulsion as a solution is that those who are not able to re-enroll in the universities have often taken to armed robbery. Thus, becoming a bigger problem to the society, while on their part, the various secret cults do enlist new members to replace expelled ones.

Part from expulsion of cultists from schools, cultism has often been declared banned by school authorities and various governments in Nigeria. Again, this has not proved to be a solution since secret cults are still in existence in our campuses. This measure has failed because Secret Cult organizations carry out their activities on campuses in secret. They operate at night. They do not make public their time, date, and place of meetings. To curb such organizations by use of Force has proved difficult over the years, since it has not been easy to know whom to arrest. From the above, it is therefore important for parents to know that children need to be treated as humans. They need some degree of freedom to socialize with peers at home. When parents handle their children well at home, they will give fewer problems to school authorities.

Apart from parents, school authorities equally have roles to play in curbing secret cult activities in the universities in Nigeria. School authorities should not create enabling environment for secret cult activities. Schools should provide comfortable accommodation for students. It is also necessary for schools to carry out well organized orientation programmes for new students so that cult members will no longer take advantage of the ignorance of new students to make them join secret cults. There should be a well organised student support services. All institutions should as a matter of need, establish functional counseling units to help students in need. This will help some of the students who join secret cults as a result of frustration and ignorance.

Apart from the above, through counseling services, school authorities could use the few cult members that have been identified at getting at others. When schools take the position of helping the young students out of their problems rather than expelling them, the cultists will give up. The fear of loosing their studentship if caught could be one of the reasons why schools have not been able to eliminate cultism on our campuses.
Further more, school authorities, parents and the Federal Government should come together to organize national seminars, orientation programmes and symposia to enable students know the dangers of belonging to secret cults. The Federal Government should use the press to popularize the noble activities of other organizations such as Man O' War on campuses. Doing this will be a way of drawing students (cultists), attention to alternative organisation they could belong.