Abstract
Cultism is prevalent in most tertiary institutions in Africa. There is no gainsay that this vice is generally unacceptable from both socio-cultural and religious viewpoints. Unfortunately, despite the detrimental tendencies associated with it, some students actively engage in it. Hence, various governmental and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have risen to campaign against cultism in tertiary institutions. The thrust of this research, therefore, is to investigate the roles of Christian campus fellowships in the fight against cultism amongst students of Nigerian universities, with reference to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). It also explores the challenges which the activities of cult groups pose to the university community. Utilising the descriptive method of data analysis, this work discovered that Christian campus fellowships are both a significant and a veritable tool in the fight against cultism in the UNN. As part of her primary and social responsibilities, Christian campus fellowships preach and teach against cult activities in tertiary institutions. They also intervene through some philanthropic gestures and other ecclesiastical activities which are primarily geared towards inculcating right values and godly characters in students, encouraging students who are members of cult groups to denounce their membership and also discouraging students from joining cult groups. The data for this research were drawn from both primary (personal communication) and secondary sources (books, journals and internet materials). The major finding of this article reveals that Christian campus fellowships in the UNN, have made remarkable strides in the campaign against the involvement of students in cultism.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The article explicitly lays bare the contributions of Christian campus fellowships in order to bring cult practices to a barest minimum amongst students of the UNN. The study contributes to modern discourses on juvenile delinquency with respect to disciplines such as religion, sociology, social work and psychology.
Highlights
Cultism is the practice of activities associated with secret cults
Campaign through open air crusades and seminars. Another significant contribution which Christian campus fellowships have made in the fight against cultism amongst students is through open air crusades
The article examines the significant contributions which various Christian campus fellowships have made in the campaign to eradicate cultism amongst students of the UNN
Summary
Cultism is the practice of activities associated with secret cults. Secret cults are organisations whose memberships and mode of operations are considered to be unconventional and known to members only. Ekwunife (2000) noted that:[I]t is a systematized form of organisation with a religious overtone in which members are engaged in concerted hidden activities whose overall ends and results spell doom for the members, the community and society at large. (p. 5)Ogunbameru (2004) reiterated that a secret cult is:[A]ny form of organisation whose activities are exclusively kept away from the knowledge of others but such activities are carried out at odd hours of the day and they often clash with the accepted norms and values of everyday life. (p. 91)Cultism is a common feature of many Nigerian educational institutions. The major finding of this article indicates that the Christian campus fellowships in the UNN have not left any stone unturned in their campaign against the involvement of students in cult practices. Christian campus fellowships have made frantic efforts to curb cultism in the UNN through the instrument of the word of God. Ezeudu, Igwe and Ugo (informants) submitted that: ‘[T]he core divine assignment for all Christian students’ groups is to preach against sin and draw young men and women to the kingdom of God by accepting the free gift of salvation.’
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