ABSTRACT

This study investigates the causes and the remedies of student involvement in cult activities in Nigeria tertiary institutions, With particular reference to Federal Polytechnic, Auchi. The study is significant because, the findings will supplement the existing knowledge on the causes, problems and remedies of cultism in the institutions of higher learning. To direct the researcher, four study questions were formulated to guide the project. The sources of data used in the course of writing the project are basically the primary and secondary sources of data collection and simple percentage method was used in analyzing the data for easy understanding. Based on the study questions, the following findings were made; factors that contribute to the formation of cultism include social factors, institutional factors, and societal factors. At the end of the project work, it was recommended that the government should enforce discipline in the society and that in order to check the existence of cults in the campuses, all the existing clubs and societies should be made to undergo a formal registration with the Directorate of Student Affairs.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1  BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

              Man is a social being. Right from creation, his life has always shown the need to associate with one another. In every society, there is inclination for a group of people to come together to protect a common interest which calls for the need for them to form unions, for example, doctors association, engineers association, accountants institute, scouts etc.

              The resort to such associations has often proved fruitless. Way back, Universities, polytechnics and other higher institutions are marked out as centres of excellence and morality.

In the past, graduates were highly regarded and the institutions that produced them were known to be citadels of knowledge. But the universities and other higher institutions today have ceased to be centres of excellence, but now centres for producing armed robbers and other anti-social behaviours. Students appear in court for burglary and the frequency with which adulterous women appear in customary courts to divorce their husbands is shocking. Institutions now harbor drug pushers, prostitutes and fraudsters who have perpetrated the act of cheating in examinations.

This brings to mind the word of the Bible ‘’you shall reap what you sow’’ this presupposes that secret societies stands the chance of reaping back all the havoc and embarrassment they caused to which has resulted to loss of values and laxity in morality.

The major factor leading to students involvement in cultism is nothing but ignorance on the part of the students who are hoodwinked and deceived into joining secret cult on campus are completely empty and bereft of sound ideology, shallow and a smoke screen for evil activities.

1.2  STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

It is obvious that secret cults exist in our institutions of higher learning. The fact remains that these secret cults mainly kill members of rival cults on the campus. It is not debatable but how serious is the problem and to what extent has the activities of the cults gone?

Troubled by the incessant unrest and violence in higher institutions, the Minister of Education and Youth Development, Mallam Shekarau in the National Concord on Thursday July, 20th 2014, lamented the grip of violence-prone associations in pursuit of crude flower. He added that paganism has become the order of the day for members of the associations.

On the 23rd of January, 2013, cult members struck at the University of Calabar. About five security men were injured and had to be rushed to the hospital. Over 20 vehicles parked on the campus had their wind screens and windows smashed to pieces. Gunshots were rained during the attack and cartridges were recovered at one security post (The Guardian January 24, 2013).

These are the activities of secret cults in our institutions of higher learning and something needs to be done very fast to rescue the students, the authorities and the society from the menace of secret cults.

1.3  PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The main objective of this study is to determine the causes and remedies of student’s involvement in secret cult in Nigeria’s higher institution. Specifically, the study will examine.

1. The factors that contribute to the formation of secret cults in our institutions of higher learning
2. The measures that have been taken to resolve the problem of secret cults in the institutions of higher learning.
3. The problems caused by the secret cults in higher institutions
4. How to eradicate secret cults from the institution of higher learning in the country.

1.4  SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance of the research is to bring to focus problem encountered by the students involved in cultism.

The significance are as listed below:

1. Problem is half solved when it is realized that it is indeed a problem
2. It is hoped that this research will go a long way in solving the other half of the problem which is making the various authorities concerned to take steps to solve the problems of cultism in our institutions of higher learning.

• It is hoped also that the contribution of this study will supplement the existing knowledge on the causes and the remedies of the problems of cultism in our institutions of higher learning.

1.5  RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The specific questions that would be addressed to guide the study include the following.

1. What are the factors that contribute to the formation of secret cults in our institutions of higher learning?
2. What are the problems caused by the secret cults in higher institutions?
3. What are the measures that have been taken to resolve the problem of secret cults of the institutions of higher learning?
4. What can be done to eradicate the problems of secret cult in the institutions of higher learning in the country?

1.6  SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study is based on the Causes and Remedies of Cult Activities in Tertiary Institutions with emphasis on Auchi Polytechnic.

This research work despite the scope of the study, has some inherent limitations faced by the researcher in the course of the field work. The researcher faced the problem of some un-co-operative respondents who were not willing to give accurate answers to the questions submitted as some files are tagged ‘’confidential’’ particularly in the institution.

Also, the researcher was faced with the problem of financial constraints. The researcher had to embark on a trip to the place of case study which ofcourse is capital intensive.

1.7   DEFINITION OF TERMS

In the course of this research work, the following key concepts were considered and defined:

CULTISM: A group of people who have extreme religious beliefs and who are not part of any established religion.

VIOLENCE: A violent behaviour that is intended to hurt or kill somebody.

INDISCIPLINE: A lack of control in the behaviour of a group of people.

DISOBEDIENCE; Failure or refusal to obey.

FRATERNITY: A group of people sharing the same profession, interest or beliefs.