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Campus criminal gangs
Despite series of legislations aimed at curbing cultism on campuses, bloodthirsty hoodlums have remained unchecked in their killing spree. At least, three students were feared dead recently during a clash involving two rival cults at the University of Ibadan. In the fracas, five others reportedly sustained severe injuries as the cultists employed guns and other dangerous weapons. Similar cult-related killings were reported at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OSU), Ago-Iwoye, and University of Port-Harcourt. A more dangerous dimension introduced to the orgy of blood-letting on campuses is the deliberate move by the cultists to attack and neutralize groups and individuals suspected to be standing in their way.
At the University of Port-Harcourt, two members of the Man-O-War, used by the university to fight cultism, were gruesomely murdered. The daredevil criminals had free reins thrice within a week at the university, making observers to conclude that security agencies in Rivers State shielded the gangsters from arrest and prosecution. In the past, there were similar attacks on anti-cult groups, including the July 10, 1999 murder of five Obafemi Awolowo University students, the 2002 killing of the President of the Lagos State University (LASU) Student Union, Tunde Salawu, and the wholesale slaughter of members of an anti-cult group at the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. Curiously, in all these and similar carnages on campuses, no individual has been made to pay for the heinous crime.
Now, allegations are rife that cultism has become a monster because of the political leadership�s equivocation in tackling the menace. The Delta State University�s former Vice-Chancellor, Professor Uvie Igun, for instance, alleges that, �in one breath, the Federal Government and all the states would call on university administrators (to) fight cults�Yet, in another breath, they are sponsoring cults; they are cultivating and making friends with them and using them to the extent that these boys feel they are untouchable.�
Prof. Igun had been attacked and his official residence razed, allegedly by some hoodlums that he linked with Aso Rock. The alleged mastermind of the killing in Uniport may yet go scot-free because those who are expected to investigate and prosecute the case are insisting that the suspect is their �informant.� The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has also accused some vice-chancellors of employing cults to settle scores arising from power tussle on campuses. Obviously, cultists have become more violent, given the official support they receive.
The insincerity of the authorities, including governments at both the federal and state levels in checkmating the murderous groups, is reflected in the spate of anti-cult laws being passed. Apart from Kwara, Akwa Ibom and Rivers states that have passed anti-cult laws, the Education Minister, Professor Fabian Osuji, disclosed that his Ministry and the Federal Ministry of Justice had been directed to produce a draft Anti-Cult Bill for enactment by the National Assembly.
None of these measures will work, unless the authorities stop playing Russian roulette with the lives of innocent youths in the name of making new laws. The blunt truth is that the so-called cultists are ruffians, political thugs, and other common criminals unleashed on the society by highly placed Nigerians. It is clear then that violent cult activities can be reduced quite easily by applying relevant existing laws on murder, arson, rape, etc.
But ordinary Nigerians are not deceived. The lack of political will to decisively tame the menace is the predicament of a nation whose leaders, for selfish reasons, have deliberately placed common criminals above the law. To protect law abiding students, therefore, police posts, complete with undercover agents, should be reintroduced on campuses. Whether on the campus or elsewhere, it is the primary responsibility of the government to secure lives and property.
The PUNCH, July 02, 2004
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