Cultism and Democracy Made Easy: The Cabal Theory in the Nigerian Politics, 1999-2009

Abstract

Generally speaking, a cult, in traditional societies, is a set of practices and beliefs of a group, in relation to a local god, for example, Owegbe or Ogboni cults. In these environments, cults or secret societies are formed to alleviate feelings of deprivation which may be economic, psychological, physical or mental. In scientifically-oriented cultures, cults or secret societies have little or no meaning except when their activities border on attitudinal discrimination against certain ethnic minorities. For example, in the Untied States, members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) have expressed their prejudice against Blacks, Jews, Catholics through verbal, physical and psychological harassment. In Hegelian thought or logic, cult membership can be said to be a negation. Using ex-post facto research, backed by some ethnography, the study found that between 1999 and 2009 the political process in Nigeria has elevated cultism to criminal activities and political thuggery, fuelling a cabal theory. The Cabal makes the conduct of free and fair elections impossible, thereby distorting the doctrine of liberal democracy as exemplified in the April 25, 2009 re-run of the governorship election in Ekiti state of Nigeria.