Secret cults exist in traditional societies of south of Nigeria,often as instruments of social control, and influence, for the betterment of society. For example, there are Cults like the Ogboni, Oro, Egugun, Agemo, Awo-Opa,Eno-Orugbo, in the South West, Kamalu, Mmanwu, Okonko, Ekpe, Ijere, in the South East, Nfam, Igbe, Oghere-Uke, Ekpo,Oje, in the South South of Nigeria.
They essentially enforced high moral standards, social justice, and peace in those early societies, but like most things in life, when corruption enters, evil follows to reign supreme, and that happened with campus cultism.
The first University campus cult was the National Association of Sea Dogs, Pirate Confraternity, founded in University of Ibadan in 1956, aimed then at addressing the injustice, and oppression in the campus, but they became corrupted as they spread into other university campuses in Nigeria in those days. Initially, they commanded power and influence on the campuses, and were generally ,gentle, good men and women. The desire by many to have more power, influence and control, led to the rise of different cult groups in the campuses. The Mafia Confraternity followed in University of Ife, in 1972 , then followed the National Association of Air Lords, or Five Confraternity.
The National Association of Adventures, called the Vickings Fraternity was founded in University of Port Harcourt in 1982,with black and red as their colours, and marked the real beginning of violence and raids by campus cults. Fashioned after the Scandinavian cult of the Vickings, they used battle axe, swords, and knifes freely to torment their victims. Black Axe Confraternity followed in University of Benin in 1984, and introduced fetish practices into Campus cultism. They wanted to be wholly African, but did very un-African things, engaging mostly in blood covenants, and idolatrous ritual worships, during initiations.
This group opened the door way to many more campus cults, with the result that it is estimated that there are over 30 different cults in university campuses today in Nigeria, including the Black Beret, Aiye, Trojan, Temple, KKK, Osiris, Obalende, Utake, Koko, and what have you. They fight for supremacy among themselves, within and between campuses across Nigeria, killing, and maiming their perceived competitors, enemies and victims. They owe an uncommon allegiance to their leader often called the Capone.
Their various forms of oaths of secrecy, and initiation rituals which could include drinking of human blood, give them false confidence that make them trivialise academic pursuits.
Cultists, willingly perpetrate all form of atrocities on campuses, and most unfortunately have succeeded in planting cults in Primary and secondary educational institutions. They engage in moral ruin, murder, terrorism, kidnapping, sexual harassment, rape, armed robbery, prostitution, gay and lesbianism, and generally morally debased practices, within and outside our educational institutions. The children from privileged families find school cultism as an easy way to escape their academic responsibilities, without explanations to their sponsors. In fact, there are many cases where parents are cowered down by threats from their wards’ cult groups.
This was the situation that was exploited by politicians in the south of Nigeria, for their unbridled pursuit for power, and electoral successes. They recruit cultists as political tugs, to torment, harass, and suppress their opponents both during and after campaigns.
The problems of cultism in our educational institutions have persisted unabated because our political leaders have vested interests. Cultists among lecturers, teachers, consultants, and in all arrears of work within the university campuses, secondary and primary schools in the South of Nigeria, especially the public institutions. Politicians empower, arm, keep, maintain, and protect cultists, at all levels of the social strata, for their purposes, hence the lip service to plans and actions that will curtail the spread of cultism in this society.
During the 2015 elections, many candidates were directly linked to killings during and after campaigns. Ballot boxes were snatched, with camera evidences, electoral officers, and some law enforcement agents were assaulted and man handled in some areas, and nothing is known to be done against such candidates and their supporters so far. Some of the culprits are Governors today, while others are in the Senate, National Assembly, and States’ Houses of Assemblies, throwing their weights around, while the families of their victims languish in pain and loss, from the activities of the cults groups they support and sponsor.
President Muhammadu Buhari, PMB, has continuously assured Nigerians that electoral offenders will be prosecuted, but the fear is that most of them will escape the hangman’s noose, based on the past scanty records of successfully prosecuted electoral offenders. In Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers states, horrible stories abound of criminal electoral conducts by politicians across party lines.
The questions are whether the APC government of PMB, will have the political will to prosecute offenders from its own fold, and at what speed these actions will be executed? The fact that we are told that only Jonathan government will be probed, even when APC offenders continue to display their ill-gotten wealth, suggest that we may not see a just, fair and even law enforcement application against electoral offenders. Nigerians know, that politicians, irrespective of the political party stole, and are stealing even now from government coffers with impunity. A lopsided or discrimatory probe or prosecution of offenders, in favour of the ruling party, will only create more problems for the nation. Let all of them face the music equally irrespective of their political party.
Cultism and corruption in the politics of Nigeria are intertwined. There is need for PMB to create special squads in the Police, NSCDC, and other law enforcement agencies specialized in investigation, and compilation of records of known and suspected cultists.
Campuses, should be infiltrated by specially trained personnel, well equipped to pick up and gather information on cult groups, cult activities, and power in the system, with the aim of reducing their influence, and control. Universities should start meeting with parents of suspected cult members to help and encourage them to deal with their wards.
Churches, Mosques, NGOs should be encouraged, and empowered to deal specifically with cultism from the root, which is our tertiary educational institutions.
Vanguard
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