Investigation of The Causes and Root of Cultism on Campuses

Among the cause of continued student involvement in cultism on campuses peer pressure has been identified as one of the strongest. Nwokeji (2006).

The youthful students have the tendency to imitate to follow the crowd. The activities of cultists often attract the fancy of some student who think that these cultists are men of guts courageous and brave people who command respect and fear on campus. Some student who may be interested but some of these cult guys as friends gradually begin to pick interest in cultism in imitation of their peers. Some cultists at times get into the game of mocking their civilian friends whom they call “liverless” (gutless) boys and girls and few men and Jew women bloody civilian. They impress it on them, (civilians) which they do not belong to the circle of the bigger boys and girls the movers and shakers of the campus community. At every opportunity the cultist would sell interesting stories of their heroic deeds escapades to their peers making them feel all the more inferior just to attract the civilian to their fold. In some cases, as investigation revealed cultist do invite neophyte friend to drinking joint where drink are offered free. Once in a while Indian hemp is shared. The cult boys keep on crating the impression that cult on campuses are nothing but social clubs just like rotaract club, dollar clubs and kegistics club even though cultist are gradually finding their way into the kegites club.

A cult like 2:1 confraternity insists on decent the academic performances of members are reviewed. Any member found to be wanting in dressing code or below average in academic performance sand to face severe penalties. Gradually neophytes who observe these begin to get carried away by all these mere shadows of what is really involved in cultism. Promise do come often in deceiving neophytes into believing that a hiddle spiritual power lay in the cult. Political machiavellian powers question as to the nature of the power have often met with the answer” discover it yourself, if is better experienced than told.

In most cases as discovered in my finding, student who have gone through the same secondary school tend to end up in the same cult on campus. The first among them to joins the cult pull others along by selling to them deceptive but enticing stories of the cult.

It has been surprisingly discovered that about eighty percent of undergraduates who have passed through junior seminaries are always into cultism quiet, seeming harmless junior seminaries turn over night in cruel and mean cultist. Obviously the strict spiritual academic and physical training they received in the junior seminaries make them ready for any challenges at all. They see themselves as being better disposal than other undergraduates toward any thing, be it spirituality and other terrible activities so their curiosity to know and conquer whatever lay in cultism have often landed them into the den of vandals. Another way through which peers lure neophytes into their fold is through the method some cultist call “set up” in this method, the boys cash in on opportunities like scarcity of water on campuses to play a game on friends at such situation, the operation ground is usually at the water taps. Often there are tong queues and clashes over who fetches water before other is quite a regular occurrence. These clashes are often violent. An unsuspecting civilian is pitched against a cultist who will attempt jumping the queue to fetch water before the civilian. The refusal of the civilian to let him have his way is just enough to speak off trouble. Surprisingly, the civilian gets supported in the insuring fight and also some boys (cultist) lend their weight behind the cultist who is fighting with the civilian. Finally the situation is controlled and at the end those who fought on the side of the civilian continue with friendly gesture and it does not take time before they begin to show him a lot of kindness. The friends now promise him further support if may body dares challenges him and day they would let him know that because the cult opponent knew very well that he is a civilian and not a “systems man” (member of a cult) he ahs capitalized on it to intimidate him. He is assured of protection, immunity and support of he blends with their confraternity. Before he knows it, he has fallen for the trap. He agrees to be initiated and on reaching the bush where the initiation takes place, he identifies all those who fought in support of his cult opponent including his opponent as well.