Weekly Trust (Kaduna)
1 July 2002
editorial
Once again the ugly incidence of secret cults in Nigerian higher institutions of higher learning has re-appeared with the reported killing last week of 15 students at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Since the mid 1980's when cultism became a source of violence and carnage on our campuses, more than one hundred young lives have been lost and more than thrice that number of young people have been wounded. Cult-related violence is becoming more and more brazen, with victims sometimes attacked in broad daylight near the main gate of the institution or close to the Vice-Chancellor's office, as happened in LASU and the University of Calabar respectively.
While it is true that student secret cults have their roots in certain cultures in this country, and that the students merely imitate their parents or other role models who are members of powerful adult cults in their communities, (hence the prevalence of these cults more in certain parts of the country than in others), institutions of higher learning throughout history and throughout the world have always been associated with intellectual pursuits and have often striven to serve as the custodian of their societies' ethical values rather than promoters of base values. Nigerian institutions of higher learning must not be an exception to this universal tendency.
In April 1994, the Federal Government constituted a high-powered Committee under the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation and with the then Honourable Minister of Education, Attorney-General of the Federation, Deputy Inspector-General of Police, some Police Commissioners, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission and some Vice-Chancellors as members. After several meetings, the Committee came up with some useful recommendations, which were, unfortunately, not implemented. It was not until July 1997 that the same Government, then fearful of the possible deployment of student cult members to disrupt its "transition programme", re-visited the issue by summoning another high-powered meeting chaired by the then National Security Adviser and attended by the top brass of the Police, the State Security Service, the National Intelligence Agency, the Ministers of Education, the Executive Secretaries of the National Universities Commission, the National Board for Technical Education and the National Commission for Colleges of Education and the Pro-Chancellors and Vice- Chancellors of Nigerian Universities to deliberate further on the way out of the menace of cultism. Again, the agreed recommendations were not implemented.
Early in the life of this administration, in July 1999, some four student leaders were killed at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and in response, Government took the panic measure of suspending the Vice-Chancellor and reading the riot act to all other Vice-Chancellors of Federal Universities to eradicate cultism from their campuses within three months or be sacked. This was followed, predictably, by stage-managed mass renunciations of cultism on several campuses and a seeming lull in cult-related violence for some time.
What is required to deal with cultism is not a new law, as the Student Union Activities (Control and Regulation) Act already has sufficient provisions empowering heads of academic institutions and the Minister of Education to proscribe any student group that is considered outlandish and to expel any students belonging to any such proscribed groups after due process. The Act also prescribes a prison sentence, upon conviction, for anyone belonging to such proscribed groups. Sadly, no one has ever been successfully prosecuted either for belonging to cults or for the many criminal activities such as murder, arson, and rape on our campuses since the promulgation of the Act in 1989. Although arrests are sometimes made, the influential parents of such arrested students, in collusion with their sympathisers in the Police and the Judiciary, who may be influenced through bribery or the secret cults network, always ensure that the cases fizzle out.
We believe that President Obasanjo, who fought secret societies to a standstill between 1976 and 1979, can eradicate cultism and cult-related violence from our campuses. He should not bark out military-like orders this time around, but should ensure that intensified surveillance of campuses and intelligence gathering lead to successful prosecution of members of secret cults and that cases of other cult-related criminal activities are successfully prosecuted to serve as deterrent to other prospective cultists. In doing so, he should watch out for those who will attempt to frustrate the efforts of Government both in the institutions of higher learning and in the Police and the Judiciary.
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