The Political Economy Of Cultism And Social Deviance In Nigerian Tertiary Institutions
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With the increase in cultism and other deviant behaviors in the Nigerian tertiary institutions, students, lecturers and other members of the academic communities are no longer safe. Cult members now employ modern weapons and all kinds of arms to cause mayhem and unleash terror and violence in our campuses. There are now rampant reports of theft, rape, wars, rebellious disrespect to constituted authorities and illegal movements, despite internal security
networks within the campuses. This paper discusses cultism as a form of deviant behaviors perpetrated by students of universities and other tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The study utilized secondary data to explain the root causes and consequences of the campus cults with a view to proffering solutions to the problem. The main objective of the paper is to studythe socioeconomic and political characteristics, social organization and modes of operation of the campus secret cults with a view to suggesting effective ways of stemming its negative impact on the society, institutions and individual cult members and possibly proffer suggestions and recommendations on how to take positive measures towards eradicating secret cults in the institutions. The paper posits that cultism as a
form of deviant behaviours is but a function of the political economy of the society. Thus, the political and economic factor is the source of cultism and social deviance on campuses since the institutions seeks to reflect or mirror the society. The paper recommends among others that the campuses security systems must be upgraded and security personnel well motivated and equipped to tackle the menace.
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