Cultism and Violence in Nigerian Universities: A Paradigm for Achieving Religious Academic Excellence

Abstract

Nigerian universities and other institutions of higher learning have in recent times witnessed unprecedented insecurity, persistent violence and educational backdrop, leading to loss of many lives and properties worth millions of naira across the country. Part of the face out of this scourge is the prevailing case of cultism and other forms of violence in Nigerian universities and other higher educational institutions. This has resulted to gruesome arrest, expulsion and murder of many students on account of cult activities on the campuses and other forms of students’ violence which further exposed our universities to insecurity, ritual murders, drug abuse and use of dangerous weapons by cult groups, victimization and regime of terror against fellow students, lecturers, and anyone that stands in the ways of these cult groups on our campuses. This paper discusses the impacts of cultism and other forms of violence on university campuses in Nigeria as a search for achieving sustainable peace and academic excellence. To explore this change, the study employs survey design, questionnaires and face-to-face interviews in collecting data and analysis. The research findings have shown that cultism and other forms of violence are prevalence in Nigerian universities and have increased tremendously in recent decades, reoccurring almost on daily basis. The paper observed that students’ radical activism and union politics, incapability of university and state authorities to enforce minimum standard of students’ civil behaviors on campuses as well as rivalries between cult groups and the wider campus community has drastically affected educational or academic performance of students in contemporary Nigerian society. The paper recommends the restructuring of university educational policies and curriculum, provision of moral education and non-interference of the government and university authorities in the affairs of students’ union politics and activism.