The broad theme of the colloquium was "Cult and Violence: Way Out". Four papers were delivered while there were three discussants under the Chairmanship of Prof. Wole Soyinka. The papers were presented by;
1. NAS Cap'n – Mr Ben Oguntuase
2. Professor O. A. Makanju – Department of Psychology, University of Lagos
3. Dr Temy Akporonor
4. Area First Mate, Overseas, Mr Wale Kuti.
The discussants were;
1. Mr. Owolabi Amisu, Registrar, Lagos State University, Ojoo, Lagos
2. Professor Onwuka, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta
3. Professor Odumosu, Dean of Students, Lagos State University, Ojoo, Lagos.
Professor Wole Soyinka gave an incisive analysis of the problem of cultism tracing its epidemic to the bigger problem of decay facing higher education in Nigeria.
All the paper presenters had almost the same approach to the theme, background to the issues, the causes of cultism and violence on Nigerian University campuses and solutions to the problem.
CAUSES OF CULTISM AND VIOLENCE IN NIGERIAN TERTIRARY INSTITUTIONS
- Power Seeking – The drive to dominate and intimidate others, Psycho – analytically, those in quest of this phenomenon of power and intimidation are those ruled by the inferiority complex.
- Prevailing environmental conditions, sociological factors and their influences on the youth's psyche. Examples of this point are the deterioration of life on campus, infrastructural decay, insincere and unfair admission procedures, exam leakage, intimidation of lecturers by students deplorable nature of student – staff ratio, appointment of mediocre and untrained officers in the student affairs offices.
- Students Unions – corruption of Union Executives (one presenter described them as another cult on their own), negligence and indulgence of this corrupt attitude by University authorities
- Divorce trend in Society, Children of broken homes have been discovered to engage mostly in Cultism and its attendant violence.
SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEM OF CULTISM AND VIOLENCE
- Peer review – For instance, the students should be given responsibilities, which would positively occupy their time. The private sector, for example, can help the situation by funding intra- and inter-University academic and sports competitions.
- Hostel reforms – the intolerable conditions under which students live presently on our various campuses should be improved upon. Situations of overcrowding, broken down facilities, squatting in hostels should be looked into. Responsible hall management should be put in place.
- Academic Reforms – Results of examinations should be published in national newspapers at the end of each semester.
- Law enforcement reforms – laws that could help the police and the University authorities in their investigations and prosecution of Cult members. Laws related to this issue also should be interpreted by the judiciary in a way that the individual rights of students would not be violated.
- Parental Interest – Parents and Guardians should inculcate greater interest in the academic and moral progress of their wards through regular monitoring and relevant follow – up sessions.
- Private Sector and Media Participation – The mass media should help in the demystification of Secret Cults. The private sector of the economy should be encouraged to help through funding of campaigns against the vices of cultism. Youth leadership training schemes should be encouraged.
- Creative ways of making cultism unattractive – we should ignore the current pedestrian ways in which the Nigerian System has been approaching the problem of cultism. For example, the students who publicly denounced cultism as was the case in Edo State University, Ekpoma and the University of Calabar, instead of being expelled should be rehabilitated, further investigation with a view to identifying others still hiding.
- Encouragement of Traditional Fraternity: Model Fraternity and Confraternity, in their positive characteristic, should be encouraged. Existing "fraternities" rather than being driven underground, should be formally registered in full compliance with University Student Club registration procedure after review and adoption. Further force, for them to remain faceless will portend more danger to humanity.
- Re-orientation of Society and Students – The Society and students should be given re-orientation programmes as to the true meaning of the two concepts: "fraternity" and "sorority" and as distinct from cultism and gangsterism.
- Emphasis on Merit – Merit should be encouraged in both the University and national Systems. The presently prevaricating instrumental concepts of "godfatherisim" and nepotism should be discouraged.
- Guilty students, of the crime of Cultism, should be treated in disciplinary terms, as adults. They should be duly prosecuted and punished according to the laws of the land. Special laws are really not necessary.
- University Administrators must take responsibility for managing the problem on their campuses instead of passing the buck.
POINTS IN DISCUSSION/RESPONSES TO THE PAPERS AND GENERAL ISSUES
- There is the need for immediate workshop and conference of Nigerian Universities, and Polytechnics principal officers to discuss the problem.
- Members of all of the "cult" groups should be encouraged to come into the open, while the schools authorities, through the committee of Vice Chancellors and Conference of Registrars are encouraged to understand the need that such students would not be bashed if they voluntarily surrender themselves for re-habilitation and counseling.
- Leadership of these various groups should be encouraged to express readiness and embark upon purposeful action to solve the different problems in their groups.
- The Pyrates Confraternity should get theses groups organized, re-orientated towards effecting solutions with the end result that they embrace the principle of respect for the rights of all students.
- The Pyrates Confraternity is to help develop programmes that will compensate effectively for the ego-deficiency in the members of these groups after full identification of membership and a comprehensive programme of re-habilitation and re-orientation towards nation building.
- LASU Registrar implored the Pyrates Confraternity to request its members who graduated from LASU, if any, to co-operate with the school authority in the orientation of new students in LASU and offer themselves for services to the University.
- PC has a role to play in the orientation of new students in the higher institutions.
- NAS should return to the Campuses to show the quality fraternal behaviour.
- Stationing of Police Posts on campuses should be reconsidered.
- Police should be made to engage the campuses.
- Society should be properly enlightened about the true meaning and philosophical implication of the concepts 'cultism' and fraternity, which have been so much abused and misused and as distinct from gangsterism.
Signed:
Ben Oguntuase
NAS Capone
National Association of Seadogs (NAS)
22nd August 1999
