Nigeria loses 245 students to campus cultism
Between
1993 and 2003, at least 245 students have died due to the activities of
cultists in higher institutions in Nigeria, Ayoola Ogunkunle, a
professor of Agronomy and former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Ibadan, claimed.
The academic said
this in Ibadan on Tuesday while delivering the maiden anti-cultism
lecture entitled, ‘War Against Campus Cultism: A Necessity for National
Development.’
The lecture, which
held at the university’s Trenchard Hall, was organised by its
Anti-Cultism Campaign Committee. Mr. Ogunkunle alleged that cultism has
killed more people, and at a faster speed, than HIV and AIDS in
campuses.The former Dean, Students’ Affairs of the university,
advocated an equal, if not better, measure of attention given to the
campaign against HIV and AIDS to campus cultism which, according to
him, is very complex and more difficult to diagnose than the pandemic.
He added that
cultism is waging an indirect war against national development as it
destroys the lives of the young members of the population who represent
the major labour force and the future leaders of the nation.
“A struggle for the soul”
Mr. Ogunkunle
described the war on the vice as “a struggle for the soul of the nation
which must be fought by all,” saying, “it must be continuous,
consistent, and unyielding in view of the stubborn and secretive nature
of cultism.”
According to him,
cultism has bred violation of fundamental human rights of others,
examination malpractices, disruption of the academic calendar,
immorality, armed robbery, and destruction of life and property in the
campuses and larger society.
A pioneer member of the Anti-Cultism Campaign Committee, established
11 years ago in the university, the guest lecturer said one major way
to rid the campuses of cultism is for the Federal Government to take
proactive steps by, for instance, creating a section in the Ministry of
Education dedicated to managing, funding, and monitoring the success of
anti-cultism activities in tertiary institutions in the country.
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