CULTISM: A GAIN OR A PAIN

 By: Samuel Iyiola

"Evil communication corrupts good manners. I hope to live to hear that good communication corrects bad manners".  —  Benjamin Banneker

Cultism has emerged as one of the most damaging and dangerous trends now harming Nigerian students' life. These organizations' actions have resulted in the suffering and death of many innocent persons. They became painfully popular and infected the country's educational institutions like a dangerous virus, destroying the lives of young people through heinous acts such as torture, fraud, painful inscriptions on the bodies of new members, voodoo rituals, murders, drinking of human blood and urine, use of hard drugs, intimidation of bystanders, armed robberies, kidnapping, and so on.

What is cultism? According to Steve Bruce (1995), the cult is a ‘loosely knit group organized around some common themes and interests but lacking any sharply defined and exclusive belief.' While Oxford Advanced Learners' Dictionary, defined it as "a religious or social group whose beliefs are secret, individualistic, and esoteric."

How did it all begin? The intentions of the first cult group were initially quite peaceful. Wole Soyinka, along with six pals, formed a group to protect the poor and needy from discrimination; all of the participants were then nice students who were not violent. Cultism developed aggressive characteristics over time, leading to its degeneration, which has produced a lot of confusion in educational settings.

Similarly, tons of weaknesses emanated from the practice of cultism; for example, senior leaders of the cult must carry out their orders, which has reshaped and restructured students' lives today, exposing them to various harmful substances such as cocaine, heroin, cigarette smoking, weeds, cannabis, and a variety of harmful equipment such as a gun, cutlass, axe, knife, and so on.

Moreover, the early efforts in admitting new members into the secret club were marked by violence. The newbies must be tortured to pass the initiation. Female students had to have intimate contact with several men at once, and those who passed these tests had to drink alcohol mixed with blood to signify that their oath was evidence of their adherence to the cult, but the sardonic aspect of this is that many students have been maimed and died in the process of pursuing these illusory fanatical goals.

Also, cultism is associated with various characteristics that make it a dungeon for students. Violence and destruction are two of these characteristics. Others are diabolical spiritual practices, Their policies are unknown to the general public, and it has a secret practice that hurts people's life.

However, many factors motivate students to join cults. For instance, if someone has been mocked by a student, he or she seeks up partners to carry out a terrible murder on the offender in retaliation for that action. Many students seek to project themselves as big boy or girl with high-standing qualities among their peers. Students' worldviews are heavily influenced by pressure organizations and bad friends; that is why it is critical to find the correct friends who will not cause a person to stray from the right path.

Walking with terrible friends can have a detrimental impact on you, and you may wind up in a cult group. Loneliness and protection drive people to seek out brotherly relationships in the hopes that they will shield them from outside forces or attacks. Students who adopted destructive behavior patterns as children want to communicate with people who have similar dispositions, causing social discord and unrest.

Therefore, joining a cult has several repercussions, the majority of which are always detrimental to the group members and society as a whole. The following are some of the ramifications: innocent people are usually killed during violent fights and others were injured; most cult groups' worldview instills negative thinking patterns in their members, rendering other people's lives worthless and unimportant in their eyes. As cultists are willing to use any means to achieve their goals, even if they are illegal, the crime rate swiftly rises.

Consequently, the educational standard is deteriorating, and schools and institutions are losing their status. These cults' actions have resulted in the suffering and death of many innocent people, as well as a great deal of anguish for some families. Cultists do not attend courses regularly and score poorly on tests, which explains why many of them are forced to stay in their various institutions for longer periods; their whole concentration is on detrimental behavior, and obtaining a proper education is nearly difficult.

Cultists injure not only others but themselves by consuming drugs and ignoring their health, all of which have a disastrous effect on their health and drastically lower the quality of their school life. As a result of these atrocities, society has a poor image, and the society or institution gains a terrible reputation.

Nevertheless, cultism is not tolerated in major Nigerian educational institutions; students who are participating face immediate expulsion from the college, as well as the possibility of a prison sentence, as cult activity is prohibited in Nigeria. Cult members lose their inner peace while their bodies are damaged by a variety of poisonous chemicals and deadly equipment.

All in all, now that you are aware of the causes and consequences of cultism in Nigeria, you should be aware that this phenomenon should not be tolerated and must be avoided at all costs in our institution. Cult awareness should be promoted by a variety of entities, including the government, schools, religious institutions, and parents. Seminars and workshops should be held in all schools, including primary schools, to explain the hazards of cultism. This action will aid in the prevention of cultism in schools and society as a whole, cultism has to be opposed.

❌❌❌ SAY NO TO CULTISM ❌❌❌