MENACE OF CULTISM IN NIGERIAN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS: THE WAY OUT

Abstract

The issue of cultism has in spite of many efforts at reducing it, soared up in the Nigeria's tertiary institutions. Cultism has cast gloom over the educational sector. It is repeatedly said that the youths are the future leaders but it is a little wonder what the future holds for the youth of this country which has a good proportion of her youth as secret cult member. It therefore became imperative to carefully redress the issue of cultism in our tertiary institution where reason should rule over emotion. Undoubtedly, the issue has assumed horrifying proportion as cultic violence thrives even more. Therefore, this paper highlights why the Youths join the obnoxious set-up with relevant examples. The effects of cultism are unveiled; the realistic ways to even out the menace in tertiary institutions in Nigeria are equally discussed. It was discovered from the study that cultism among the students of tertiary institutions is real and urgent solutions is needed by government and institution at large to curb it. To collect and analyze the necessary data, the writers turned to secondary data from published and unpublished sources such as text books, journals, newspapers, and online resources, as well as context analysis. It was therefore suggested that, to curb cultism in Nigeria educational system, there is need for collaborative effort of the parents, school, religious organizations and government towards the moral upbringing of their children.