How to Eradicate Cultism in Nigerian Schools: Useful Tips
Last month, a mother called me crying. Her son, a brilliant 300-level Engineering student at one of Nigeria’s federal universities, had just been expelled for cultism. “He wasn’t even a member,” she sobbed. “He was just in the wrong place during a clash.” This is the reality of cultism in Nigerian schools – it destroys both the guilty and the innocent.
Cultism has evolved from the 1952 Pyrates Confraternity’s noble beginnings to become a cancer eating away at Nigerian education. Today, it’s not just a university problem. We’re seeing cult activities in secondary schools, even whispers of recruitment in primary schools. As someone who’s worked with thousands of students across Nigerian institutions, I’ve seen how cult violence disrupts academic calendars, terrorizes innocent students, and turns campuses into war zones.
Understanding the Root Causes: Why Students Join Cults
Before we can eradicate cultism, we must understand why students join these groups. From my interactions with former cult members who’ve turned their lives around, here are the real reasons:
The Protection Myth: Many students believe joining a cult provides protection from other cults. In universities where security is weak and cult clashes frequent, frightened students see membership as insurance. They don’t realize they’re actually painting targets on their backs.
Academic Manipulation: “Join us and never fail” – this promise lures struggling students. Cults claim to have lecturers in their pockets, access to exam questions, and power to influence results. Desperate students facing academic probation fall for these lies.
Poverty and Materialism: Campus cults flaunt wealth – the latest phones, cars, designer clothes. For students from poor backgrounds watching their mates struggle with handouts they can’t afford, the temptation is real. Cults promise financial breakthroughs that rarely materialize.
Peer Pressure and Belonging: University can be lonely, especially for students far from home. Cults offer brotherhood, identity, and social connection. They prey on isolated students desperate for friendship and acceptance.
Family and Political Connections: Some students are literally born into cultism. Their fathers are members, their uncles are “Capons,” and joining becomes a family expectation. Politicians also use campus cults as thugs during elections, offering money and promises of future employment.
Practical Strategies for Students: Staying Safe and Cult-Free
If you’re a student reading this, here’s how to protect yourself:
Recognize Recruitment Tactics
Cult recruitment isn’t always violent. Watch out for:
- Excessive friendliness from groups of students who suddenly want to be your “brothers”
- Invitations to exclusive parties, especially night events off-campus
- Offers that seem too good: free accommodation, guaranteed grades, easy money
- Pressure to prove you’re “man enough” or “strong enough”
- Threats disguised as warnings: “This campus isn’t safe for people without backup”
Build Alternative Support Systems
- Join legitimate organizations: Academic clubs, religious groups, sports teams, and student unions provide community without criminal activity
- Stay visible: Cults prefer recruiting isolated students. Maintain healthy friendships and stay connected with family
- Report approaches immediately: If someone tries recruiting you, report to student affairs, security, or trusted lecturers. Don’t try handling it alone
Academic Excellence as Protection
Focus on your studies. Cults have less power over students who:
- Attend classes regularly (cult members often skip classes)
- Submit assignments on time (reduces need for “sorting”)
- Build genuine relationships with lecturers through academic merit
- Participate in departmental activities and seminars
Institutional Measures: What Schools Must Implement
Nigerian educational institutions need comprehensive anti-cultism strategies:
Strengthen Security Architecture
Functional CCTV Systems: Not just cameras for show, but monitored systems covering hostels, dark spots, and campus perimeters. When students know they’re being watched, recruitment and initiation activities decrease.
Improved Lighting: Most cult activities happen in darkness. Proper lighting in all campus areas, especially hostels and walkways, reduces opportunities for cult operations.
Regular Security Patrols: Not predictable routes that cults can avoid, but random patrols including plain-clothes security personnel who blend with students.
Academic Reforms
Transparent Grading Systems: When students trust that hard work pays off, they’re less likely to seek cult connections for academic favors. Departments should:
- Publish marking schemes
- Allow result verification
- Investigate grade irregularities
- Punish lecturers who enable cult manipulation
Effective Guidance Counseling: Every institution needs functional counseling units where students can:
- Report recruitment attempts confidentially
- Receive psychological support
- Get help with academic struggles before desperation leads to cult membership
Swift Disciplinary Action
Zero Tolerance Policy: Not just on paper, but in practice. When cult members are expelled regardless of their connections, the message is clear. This requires:
- Independent disciplinary panels
- Protection for witnesses
- Faster investigation and prosecution
- No sacred cows – even “big men’s” children face consequences
Community and Parental Involvement
Parents’ Role in Prevention
Parents often unknowingly contribute to cultism through:
- Pressure for academic success at any cost
- Insufficient financial support leading to desperation
- Poor communication leaving children vulnerable to negative influences
- Sometimes, their own cult memberships
What Parents Should Do:
- Maintain open communication channels with your children
- Know their friends and social circles
- Monitor behavioral changes: new wealth, injuries, secretiveness
- Provide adequate support within your means
- Visit campuses unexpectedly
- Collaborate with school authorities when concerns arise
Religious and Traditional Leaders
Religious organizations on campus can be powerful anti-cult forces when they:
- Provide genuine fellowship and support
- Offer mentorship programs
- Organize activities that engage students positively
- Preach against cultism specifically, not just “sin” generally
Traditional rulers in university communities should:
- Deny cults use of community spaces for meetings
- Report suspicious gatherings to authorities
- Refuse to settle cult-related cases traditionally
- Support security agencies with intelligence
Government and Policy Interventions
Legislative Strengthening
Current laws need teeth. The Secret Cult and Similar Activities (Prohibition) Act needs:
- Stricter penalties including longer jail terms
- Clear definition of cult activities to close loopholes
- Protection for witnesses and whistle-blowers
- Asset forfeiture for convicted cultists
- Liability for institutions that harbor cult activities
Funding and Resources
Government must:
- Adequately fund campus security
- Support anti-cultism campaigns and orientations
- Provide witness protection programs
- Fund rehabilitation programs for repentant cultists
- Support research into cult activities and prevention
Inter-Agency Collaboration
Different agencies must work together:
- Police, DSS, and military sharing intelligence
- NSCDC protecting schools
- NDLEA addressing drug connections to cult violence
- Immigration monitoring international cult connections
- Judiciary ensuring speedy trials and convictions
Technology and Modern Solutions
Digital Surveillance
- Anonymous reporting apps where students can report cult activities
- Social media monitoring to track cult recruitment and planning
- Biometric systems to control campus access
- Emergency alert systems for rapid response during cult clashes
Data-Driven Approaches
- Maintain databases of expelled cultists to prevent re-admission elsewhere
- Track patterns of cult activity to predict and prevent violence
- Share intelligence between institutions
- Use predictive analytics to identify at-risk students
The Role of Student Unions and Associations
Legitimate student leadership can combat cultism by:
- Organizing anti-cultism campaigns
- Creating peer support networks
- Providing alternative social activities
- Working with security agencies
- Protecting vulnerable students
- Promoting academic excellence over shortcuts
Student unions should be empowered but also held accountable, as some have been infiltrated by cultists.
Success Stories: What Works
Covenant University’s Model: Their zero-tolerance policy, combined with comprehensive student engagement and spiritual programs, has kept cultism virtually non-existent on their campus.
UNILORIN’s Approach: Consistent expulsion of cultists regardless of level or connections has made their campus relatively peaceful compared to others.
Military Intervention Success: When military took over certain campuses temporarily, cult activities ceased, showing that strong authority works when properly applied.
The Path Forward: Collective Responsibility
Eradicating cultism requires everyone’s involvement:
Students: Choose education over destruction. Your degree is worth more than cult membership ever could be.
Parents: Stay involved. Know what’s happening in your children’s lives.
Institutions: Implement and enforce anti-cultism policies without compromise.
Government: Provide resources and political will to fight cultism.
Society: Stop glorifying cultists in politics and business.
Conclusion: Hope for a Cult-Free Future
Cultism isn’t inevitable in Nigerian schools. With coordinated effort, proper resources, and unwavering commitment, we can create safe learning environments where students focus on education, not survival.
The mother I mentioned earlier? Her son was eventually cleared and readmitted after proving his innocence. But he lost a year of his life, and the trauma remains. How many more students must suffer before we act decisively?
Every student deserves to pursue education without fear. Every parent deserves peace of mind when sending children to school. Every institution deserves to focus on academics, not security. The time to act is now.
For more resources on student safety and academic success in Nigerian institutions, visit Premium Researchers’ Academic Resources. Together, we can build safer educational environments for all Nigerian students.
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